Harry Potter and the Mark of Gryffindor
by Geena
Summary: My version of Book 5. Professor Snape has stolen something from Voldemort. Harry, Ron and Hermione try to solve more than one puzzle in this story. And exactly WHO is Professor Palmer ? Includes: a nasty Draco, Ginny has a crush and a nice Sirius
1. Default Chapter

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR By Geena Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters (except for Jessica Palmer, nope, no Mary Sue), they're all a product of the wonderful mind of JK Rowling, I merely play with them. 

Summary: 

Tired of waiting, so here is my version of the fifth Harry Potter book. This is the way I imagine things could develop. 

Professor Snape has stolen something from Lord Voldemort, the only reason he is still alive. Harry will find out what it is and another confrontation with the Dark Lord will be unavoidable. Will the good guys be able to stop the Dark Lord in his never ending quest for power ?

Lots of revealed secrets, action, humor and some romance.

Rating: General to PG, maybe a bit angsty. No graphic sex scenes, although there will be references to sexual relationships between consenting adults. This must come as a big shock if you've already read some of my other stories. 

Pairing: definitely Harry/Hermione, the rest would be giving away the plot …

Author's note: For those of you looking for references to the Order of the Phoenix: you won't find them! There will be meetings and increased Ministry/Auror activity, but I felt I should write my own story, it would be too freaky if any of it should appear in the actual book. (not that I think that would ever happen, although we can always dream about Snape playing a major part in book 5!)

Chapter 1: Potions Master in Distress 

"CRUCIO !"

The bolt of lightning struck at his abdomen. The pain was as intense as ever, starting at the point of impact, slowly spreading through his body, increasing with every heartbeat until it became almost unbearable. The tall, dark wizard cringed but would not fold, he did not want to show any signs of weakness. Not even when his intestines seemed to burn up from the inside.

The cracking laugh that kept ringing in his ear seemed to be the only appropriate soundtrack to this seemingly never ending torture.

At last his tormentor understood he wasn't getting anywhere and dropped his wand.

"Severus, you know it's just a matter of time before you tell me what I want to know. After all, you're only a man. A formidable one, I agree, but everyone has his limits. So do you, my beloved traitor."

Severus Snape looked straight into the glowing red eyes of Lord Voldemort. He gathered all the strength he had left inside him to emphasise his next words.

"I will NEVER tell you." It was almost a growl. Although severely weakened by a series of cruciatus curses, the menace in his voice was unmistaken. The way he stood there, slightly bent forward as in an attack position, his jet-black eyes scanning the room, threatening it's occupants to defy him, gave the impression he was the one in control and not the lean, transparent figure in the front.

"You have taken what was MINE !" Voldemort, infuriated by Snape's phlegmatic composure couldn't keep his cool and started another round of tortures.

Snape tried to drive all thoughts of pain from his mind, the only way to fight the continuous attacks on his nerve system. He only succeeded partially. 

Voldemort cooled his fury on the defenceless body in front of him, even when Snape lost consciousness and dropped to the floor.

At long last the attacks stopped. Voldemort took a few deep breaths and seemed to come to himself again, like he had been in some kind of trance.

"Ditch him somewhere near Hogwarts. I'm sure he'll manage to get back, always does, the annoying scum."

Two masked figures bent over the motionless body and picked it up. The next moment they were gone. Only five were left. The Dark Lord stepped closer to one of them and placed his hand on the other man's shoulder in a fatherly gesture.

"Lucius, you will keep a close eye on him. Sooner or later he will make the mistake that will lead us to what is rightfully mine. Then you may bring him to me and it will be my pleasure to kill him in the most slow and painful way you can imagine."

He licked his lips in anticipation, the other ones present laughing behind their masks, the sounds coming out stifled.

Voldemort engaged in another of his high-pitched laughs, the ones that set your teeth on edge.

****

Harry Potter woke with a start, dazed by what he had witnessed in his dream. His hand went to his forehead where his scar was throbbing like mad.

For a moment he was a bit disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings, but then he let out a reassured sigh, seeing Ron Weasley's sleeping figure on the bed next to him. He was at the Burrow and tomorrow he was going to Hogwarts to start his fifth year. Just when he was about to go back to sleep, the door went open with a thud and a vision of white and bushy brown stormed into the room.

"Harry ? Are you alright ? I thought I heard you screaming !"

Harry put on his glasses and recognised Hermione Granger. Oh, right, she was sleeping across the hall with Ginny, also waiting to return to school.

"Er, I'm sorry, I didn't realise …"

"Was it one of your scary dreams about you-know-who ?" she whispered.

"Yeah." He showed her his scar and she let out a little cry.

"Oh my God, it's so big and red ! It must have been terrible, tell me all about it." 

Hermione sat down on the bed. Though it was the middle of the night, she was all pumped up and prepared to get to the bottom of Harry's latest experience with the Dark Lord.

Before Harry could start telling her about his dream, Ron yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Ouwaah !  What's all the racket ? Is it time yet ?"

If he was surprised to see Hermione in their room, he didn't let it show, but when he looked at the clock on the wall, his mouth fell open.

"What ?! Do you know what time it is ?"

"Ron, calm down. Harry just had one of his nasty dreams, he was going to tell me all about it when you decided to join us. I must say it surprises me you didn't wake up earlier. Didn't you hear him scream ? Honestly, what if some dark wizard should come and kidnap him, you wouldn't even notice !"

"Did … did you really scream ?" Ron looked apologetic at Harry, who merely rolled his eyes.

"What … what did you see ? Did you-know-who hurt someone ?"

Harry nodded, shivering when he recalled the amount of pain that had reflected on him. It had been ten times as worse as he experienced himself earlier this year and he knew it was only a fraction of what the actual torture must have felt like to … Snape.

"It was … he was … it was Snape ! He was torturing Snape !"

Harry rocked back and forth, his arms thrown around himself for comfort. Hermione pulled him in a protective embrace.

"Oh Harry, that must have been horrible."

Ron didn't say anything. None of them liked professor Snape and that was putting it mildly, but to be tortured by the Dark Lord …

Hermione frowned. Always the intelligent one, even at three in the morning, she tried to grasp the meaning of all this.

"If you-know-who was torturing Snape, then he must know he's a spy for Dumbledore. But what I do not understand, is why he doesn't kill him. I mean, it's not like he would enjoy having a spy hang around, no ?"

"Who knows?" Ron sighed, longing to resume his interrupted sleep.

Harry jerked up.

"That's right. I almost forgot. He said he was going to kill Snape, but …er … wait a minute … Oh yes. Snape has something Voldemort wants !"

Both Hermione and Ron looked at him in shock.

"You mean, like a potion ?" Hermione asked.

"No. He stole something from him. They didn't say what it was, but it must have been really important because when he refused to say where it was, Voldemort went ballistic."

"Could it be another philosopher's stone ?" Ron remarked.

"Hm, very unlikely." Hermione thought out loud, not noticing the disgruntled look Ron shot at her. "Harry, I think you should tell Dumbledore about your dream. He believes your scar is a direct link to you-know-who and maybe he knows what they were talking about."

"You're right, he will know what to do. I'd like to tell Snuffles about it, but it's been ages since I heard from him and somehow I don't think he'll mind Snape being tortured all that much." He gave them a weak smile, indicating he was alright again.

Suddenly the presence of Hermione in their room, wearing nothing but her nightgown was very disturbing. He didn't know why, they always had moved around quite freely amongst each other, even in Gryffindor, but somehow it didn't feel right anymore. On the other hand, Ron didn't seem to have any problem with her being there, he was already comfortably lying down again.

Harry shifted a few inches away from her, pulling up the covers.

"Well, I'll let you two get some more sleep. After all, we don't want to miss our train, do we ?" Hermione stated and left the room.

Harry tried very hard to go back to sleep, but was unsuccessful. Images from his dream kept haunting him and part of him was afraid of what he was going to see if he closed his eyes. He was really glad to go back to Hogwarts. Headmaster Dumbledore would surely know what to do and after this night's events, he would be more than happy to have Snape's usual gloomy stare glare over him tomorrow at the banquet.


	2. Chapter 2

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 2 : The Fair Professor

After what seemed like an eternity, Molly Weasley's voice rang out, urging them to come down for breakfast. Both Ron and Hermione yawned like mad, rubbing their eyes in a courageous attempt to wake up. Harry kept cleaning his glasses, but then realised it was the sleep in his eyes that prevented him from seeing clearly.

The entire Weasley family was gathered around the breakfast table. Bill and Charlie had temporarily left their jobs to assist Dumbledore with the organisation of the resistance against Voldemort. Percy was now working for his father, who had taken over the position of Barty Crouch at the Department of International Magical Co-operation. They were both very busy and wouldn't accompany them to the station.

"So, at least we have two prefects in the house." 

Percy glared disapprovingly at Ron. Harry quickly sent him a sympathetic look, also a bit apologetic. He had been surprised when he received his prefect badge and felt a bit sorry for Ron. Luckily neither Fred nor George had become Head Boy, so Ron wasn't the only Weasley to miss out on the prestige.

"Actually, I was thinking about declining, but I guess it wouldn't be very decent of me." Hermione's clear voice shook them up.

All stared astonished at her. They had expected her to be made a prefect, and to hear her say she didn't want to be one was strange to say the least.

Percy seemed to take it as a personal insult and started lecturing her on the great honour and the doors it opens for a future career.

"I know and I DO appreciate it, honestly, but it also means a lot of extra work and now with the O.W.L.'s coming up …" Hermione defended herself, looking helplessly.

"Quite right. I must admit I've had the same feelings when I received my badge." Harry's noble rescue, though not entirely truthful but close enough, earned him a grateful smile.

"Unbelievable." Percy mumbled, but his protests were overshadowed by the twin's approval.

"Way to go Harry and Hermione! We're so going to have a great time with such cool prefects like the two of you."

"As long as YOU two don't forget there's N.E.W.T.'s coming up !" Molly Weasley silenced them with one of her trademark death glares.

"Yes mum." Both Fred and George replied subdued.

The sausages and eggs didn't look as appealing to Harry as they used to and by the time Arthur Weasley told them to hurry up, Harry would have raced up the stairs to get his suitcase if his overtired legs could have carried him.

At long last they were packed and ready to go. The Ministry had provided two cars to take them to the station. At first, Cornelius Fudge had insisted that Harry should be escorted to Hogwarts by private car instead of taking the Hogwarts express, but Harry already felt the odd one out and asked to join the others as usual. Fudge acted like an overprotective hen lately. First he had visited him at the Dursleys – Harry still couldn't suppress a little snicker when he recalled his aunt and uncle's uneasiness upon meeting the bizar wizard. It was obvious they thought nothing but the worst of him, but he was a Minister after all and it amused Harry to see the struggle on their faces whether to throw him out or to bite their nails for not being able to show off to their friends they had a Minister visiting their house. And now Fudge wanted someone to hold his hand until he was safe with Dumbledore. Harry didn't know what had caused this change of attitude, but something must have convinced Fudge to take the resurrection of the Dark Lord serious.

Charlie and Bill saw them off at the station, both told them they would be coming to Hogwarts occasionally.

Ron had gone a bit silent when they reached platform 9 ¾. Harry wondered why, but Hermione was one step ahead of him as usual, put her hand on Ron's shoulder and said:

"Don't worry, we're not going to sit in the prefects' compartment." And she walked resolutely to their customary last wagon.

Ron looked relieved and Harry wanted to kick himself for not realising sooner. He would make sure Ron didn't feel left out this year. Last year's rupture in their friendship had been horrible and if it wasn't for Hermione, he didn't know how he would have pulled through.

The train had left London behind when Neville Longbottom, accompanied by an excited Seamus Finnigan entered their compartment.

"Here you are. We've been looking all over for you guys! You weren't with the prefects so we sort of wondered if you might have missed the train again."

"No such luck." Harry smiled, recalling his adventure in the Ford Anglia.

Seamus and Neville turned their attention to Hermione.

"Hey, you didn't say you were going steady with Victor Krum !"

Hermione's cheeks flushed and Ginny let out a giggle.

"I … I'm not going out with Victor." Hermione recovered after a few embarrassing moments.

"Oh really, then how do you explain this, hey ?" With a large grin, Seamus presented a copy of the Daily Prophet. It had a picture of Hermione and Victor Krum on the front page.

* Award winning Bulgarian Seeker with girlfriend * The caption read.

"That 's not true !" Hermione exclaimed.

"You went out with Krum ? I thought you said your parents didn't allow you to go to Bulgaria ?" Ron inquired.

"No no, it's nothing like that." Hermione insisted. The four boys were looking at her expectantly, obviously they wouldn't let her off this easily.

"Ok, fine. Victor owled me and asked me to go with him to the Player of the Year ceremony. He told me most girls he knows only like him because he's a famous Quidditch player and he wanted to go with someone he could talk to. Since the ceremony was in London, my parents permitted me to go."

"Waw!" Seamus and Neville looked impressed.

"And you didn't tell us ?!" Ron was shocked. "Why didn't you ask me to go with you ?"

They all laughed, Ron eventually as well. That's when Draco Malfoy decided to show up.

"Having a party ?" He sneered, grasping the newspaper from Seamus' hands.

He absentmindedly threw it back at them. "You should know better than to believe what they write in the gossip column." With one last glare at Hermione like he was measuring her up, he retreated.

"Huh, did you see the look on that arrogant prat's face ? Couldn't get out of here fast enough. Probably wishes Krum had owled HIM to go to the awards." Ron said grudgingly.

A moment of silence passed and then they burst out in laughter, they all had formed the same picture in their heads: Malfoy on a date with Krum, gazing up at him in adoration.

It was a noisy group of fifth year Gryffindors, accompanied by Ginny, who left the train.

When Harry saw the carriages that would take them to the castle, he suddenly remembered why he had wanted to get here so badly.

Snape.

He shuddered, thinking about last night's vision. The memory was so overwhelming, he didn't even wave at Hagrid. Only when the half-giant gave him a friendly push did he become aware of his surroundings again.

"Hi Hagrid."

"Alright Harry ?" Hagrid gave him an examining look and Harry remembered to smile in time.

"See yer at dinner then." Hagrid went in search for the first years as the senior students entered the carriages.

When they reached the castle, two giant statues flanked the entrance. They hadn't been there last year and some of the students eyed them warily.

"They're gargoyles." Hermione whispered. "Must be here for our protection." She continued.

"But there are gargoyles everywhere on Hogwarts' grounds, why put up an extra pair ?" Ron asked.

"Obviously Dumbledore doesn't want to take any chances." Came Hermione's answer.

As soon as Harry walked through the doors he went looking for Dumbledore, Hermione and Ron assured him they would save him a seat.

He found the gargoyle at the bottom of the stairs leading to Dumbledore's office, but not knowing the password, Harry suddenly cursed himself for his impatience.

To his surprise, the gargoyle took one look at him and stepped aside, giving him a free passage to the door.

Harry was about to knock on the door when it swung open.

"Ah, Harry, I was wondering when I would be seeing you here." Dumbledore invited him in.

There was something strange about him. Stranger than usual. 

He didn't seem his perky self and Harry could have sworn he looked at least ten years older then he had last seen him. Considering the Headmaster's old age, that was quite a big deal.

"What can I do for you ?" Dumbledore asked.

"The … the statue, it …" Harry had difficulties not to drop his mouth.

"Oh, I keyed it to you. After last year's events I thought you might want to come here more often."

"I see."

Then, when Dumbledore kept looking at him as if he was waiting for something, Harry recalled the reason why he was here for.

Dumbledore heard him out, never interrupting him, but the concern in his eyes increased as Harry's story went along.

Finally, he closed his eyes briefly and sighed.

"Maybe I have asked too much from him."

"Sir, do you know what professor Snape has taken from Voldemort ?" Harry asked the one question that had been burning on his lips ever since he had told Ron and Hermione about it.

"Huh ? Of course I know. Now, Harry, this is very important. Do you recall them saying WHERE they were going to take him ?"

"Er, no, not really, why ?" But at the same time he was saying the words, he realised why Dumbledore had asked him.

"He hasn't returned, has he ?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

Harry covered his mouth with his hand. Snape had been in bad shape, in urgent need of attendance and if he was still missing …"

At that moment, Professor McGonagall came bursting in.

"Albus, they found him. Hagrid's bringing him in." she uttered breathlessly.

Dumbledore seemed to forget all about Harry and stormed out after her.

Acting on instinct, Harry went down as well. He couldn't stay in the Headmaster's office all evening, could he ? 

He decided to go to the Great Hall to wait for dinner, but when he walked through the passage leading from Dumbledore's office to the Great Hall, he was stopped by the scene in front of him.

Hagrid was carrying something that looked like a bundle of filthy robes, but much to his own horror, Harry had to conclude it was Snape's motionless body.

Dumbledore hurried towards his unconscious member of staff and Harry couldn't help overhearing what was said.

"Minerva, get Poppy, quickly. Hagrid, put him down gently, I don't want to risk moving him too much."

Hagrid did as told and Dumbledore went down on his knees to sit next to Snape.

Harry couldn't see much, but what he saw made his stomach turn.

The face of his Potions teacher had been mutilated by something sharp and although Madam Pomfrey would be able to heal the cuts without much effort, the pain must have been excruciating.

Apart from the face, Snape seemed to be bleeding everywhere, his robe soaked with his own blood. The high pitched scream escaping Madam Pomfrey's lips when she saw her patient only confirmed Harry's worst fears. When Dumbledore turned around to follow Pomfrey and her patient to the Hospital Wing, Harry was shocked to see tears dripping from the usually twinkling blue eyes.

It was a quiet Harry that rejoined his classmates.

Ron and Hermione were sitting on the edge of their seats, desperate to hear some news. Harry whispered to them what he had witnessed. Both his friends as disconcerted as him about Snape's condition.

Professor McGonagall entered the Hall to start the sorting. Neither of them paid any attention, heads turned at the entrance to see when Dumbledore would arrive. Hagrid came in during the sorting ceremony, looking pale and when Harry took a good look at the Head Table, it seemed like none of the teachers were enjoying themselves.

At long last, when the sorting had finished, Dumbledore came in to start the welcoming feast. 

He made his usual remarks about the Forbidden Forest, but then his speech took a different turn. With a stern expression on his face he told them about the increased security measures. His gaze lingered on the Huffelpuf table for a moment when he asked everyone to be careful, even around Hogwarts' grounds.

Then he made a few spectacular announcements. 

"First of all I'd like to inform you that Professor Snape will not be with us this first week. You will study your Potions textbooks in the library until he returns."

An almost inaudible 'hooray' travelled through the Hall, but Harry, Ron and Hermione did not participate. Although they would have been the first to welcome a Snape-free week, it was simply impossible to rejoice over the Potions Master's absence when they knew all too well what had caused it.

Dumbledore didn't seem to notice the relief of his students – only the Slytherins looked slightly worried , and continued.

"And then there's someone I would like to introduce to you. Please welcome Professor Palmer, she will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year." 

A frail looking, young, blond woman made her way to the Head Table, accompanied by a spontaneous outburst of applause.

"Hey, they finally managed to find someone suitable." Dean Thomas said, gaping at their new professor.

"I thought Professor Lupin did just fine." Hermione replied.

Harry was about to confirm, but then Professor Palmer passed the Gryffindor table and his eye caught hers. A soothing warm feeling invaded him and he suddenly didn't worry about his vision or Snape's condition any more. He had the strangest, ridiculous idea that everything would be alright.

Next to him, Ron stared at the new Professor and sighed.

"Oh Merlin, she's like an angel."

Hermione and Ginny both roared with laughter. Ron narrowed his eyes and spat: "I have two words for you: Gilderoy Lockhart !"

Hermione stopped laughing, but Ginny couldn't control herself and her face went dark red, tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks.

"She looks like Julia Roberts !" Dean Thomas exclaimed.

"Julia … who ?" Ron started.

"Huh ?" Hermione turned her head to take another look.

"No way, Professor Palmer is blond and Julia Roberts definitely is not."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Do you think she's Veela ?" Ron asked.

Hermione turned around again. "No, I don't think so. She seems just normal to me. Anyway, I think you're all reacting like that because she's the first female teacher under fifty to enter Hogwarts. Am I right ?"

"Probably." Harry agreed. He had to admit he was instantly attracted to the new teacher as well, but not because of her looks. Sure, she was very pretty, but there was something about her …

"Does she remind you of someone ?" He asked Ron and Hermione.

Both shook their heads.

"I can't get the idea out of my head that I have seen her somewhere before."

"Such a shame she should teach Dark Arts, Snape's going to eat her alive and besides, she's much too nice to know anything about that evil stuff." Seamus said.

Ron spread his eyes open wide. "What if she's a spy from Voldemort ?" he whispered only for Harry and Hermione to hear.

Harry's first impulse was to reject that idea right away, but he had learned from past mistakes that things weren't always like they appeared to be and he told himself to hold onto Alastor Moody's motto: constant vigilance.

"Look at Malfoy !!!!" Ginny yelled, pointing her finger at the Slytherin table.

"Ooooh." Fred and George moaned simultaneously.

The entire Gryffindor table laughed their heads off at the expense of an oblivious Draco Malfoy who was too entranced by the new teacher to notice his mortal enemies were having a good time watching him drooling over Professor Palmer.

"I like her already." Hermione giggled. 


	3. Chapter 3

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 3 : Prefects 

The first thing Harry realised when he woke up, was that he did not have a nightmare that night. He sighed relieved and quickly got up. He was eager to resume his normal school routine, happy to reacquaint himself with all his subjects, even Divination.

Seeing Ron was still asleep, he decided to head off to breakfast a little early so he could take a detour to the owlery. Sirius, wherever he was, would want to know he had arrived safely at Hogwarts.

He got as far as the Gryffindor common room. A nervous looking Hermione was making a hole in the carpet, pacing up and down like she had been anxiously waiting for something. She let out a little squeak when she saw him.

"Harry ! I was just about to come up and wake you. We're late !"

Harry looked puzzled, lessons didn't start until nine and a glance at his watch told him it was only five past seven.

"Late for what ?" He asked.

Hermione looked irritated. 

"For our first Prefects Meeting, silly. We're all having breakfast together with Dumbledore and the Head of Houses. Although Snape probably won't be there."

"Aaah." Harry had totally forgotten about that. Then again, the meeting wasn't until seven thirty…

"Hermione, calm down, there's plenty of time. I'm just going to send Sirius an owl and then I'll go straight to the Prefects' Room."

She didn't look too pleased, shrugged her shoulders and went in a totally different direction once they were through the portrait hole.

Harry took his time to write the note, using it as an opportunity to play with Hedwig. She nipped his finger lovingly, grateful her human spent some time with her.

Once she had flown away, whereto only Hedwig knew; Harry went back inside.

He tried to remember the directions to the Prefects Room, walking through empty passages that all looked the same to him.

Suddenly it seemed like he had come to a dead end, but then he noticed the opening on the left, just in front of the rear end of the passage. He was about to turn the corner when he heard a familiar voice. Startled, not meaning to interrupt, he held back and only heard little bits and pieces from the conversation.

"… our chateau in France … discovery … a bookworm like you would be interested …"

Bookworm ? Now Harry knew the person that hadn't spoken yet, could be no other than Hermione and the one that did all the talking … Malfoy. Harry moved closer to the passage corner, ready to intervene if necessary.

Hermione must have said something, judging by Malfoy's following smirk.

"I thought you must have heard of him. But have you read any of his work ? The Marquis wrote some interesting stuff, you might learn something, Mudblood. And, if you'd ever feel the need for a 'hands on' practise session, don't look any further."

Was it the denigrating way Malfoy spoke to her ? The hint of a threat in his voice ? Harry couldn't tell what made him act, but at the same moment Hermione said "Get your hands off me, Malfoy." Harry had turned around the corner at full speed, flying on top of Malfoy like an avenging angel.

Hermione gasped as she saw her friend appearing out of nowhere. Draco didn't have the time to be surprised, he found himself flat on his back, an enraged Harry straddled across his chest, pinning his wrists down.

Before either one of them had the chance to say or do anything, a calm voice interrupted the little scene.

"Gentlemen, it appears you have a problem ? There's no need to get physical. I'm sure you'll find some other, more peaceful means of communication." 

Harry let go of Malfoy, who was staring over his shoulder with his mouth open. No need to ask who had just walked into their fight.

"Professor Palmer, I …" Draco began, but tripped over his own split tongue.

"Draco was calling me 'mudblood', professor and Harry … well, he just … you know …" Hermione defended her friend.

"He was there to play your knight in shining armour, am I right, miss Granger ?"

Professor Palmer watched both teenagers turn a deeper shade of pink and suppressed a chuckle.

"Now, I think we were all heading in the same direction, so I suggest you boys get on your feet. Mister Malfoy, you will apologise to miss Granger and we can start the meeting."

All three of them looked slightly dazed. Harry most of all because he had been holding his breath, afraid Ron's suspicions about the new professor could hold some truth. Apparently she did not favour Malfoy at all. Malfoy sheepishly murmured an apology, holding his head down in defeat, but Harry noticed the malicious glare he shot at Hermione. He was also painfully aware of her shudder and pumped her hand in comfort. It earned him a smile that made him blush some more, but he didn't care.

The meeting was a bit of an anti-climax after the upsetting events in the passage. Dumbledore explained what they were supposed to do, which came down to setting an example for the younger students and keeping their Houses out of mischief.

Harry had wondered why professor Palmer would be present at the meeting, but it seemed she had temporarily taken over professor Snape's responsibilities as Head of Slytherin. That came as a shock. Did it mean she had been in Slytherin during her time as a student at Hogwarts ? Maybe Ron's idea of her being linked to Voldemort wasn't so farfetched after all. Then again, the incident in the passage didn't result in a major loss of points for Gryffindor. With a start Harry realised he hadn't been paying attention to what was said. 

When the meeting was over Malfoy headed off in the same direction as professor Palmer, trailing behind her, looking up at her tall figure, eyes shining with adoration.

Harry walked together with Hermione to Transfiguration, their first class.

"Hermione, what was Malfoy hassling you about ? That Marquis, who is he ?"

Hermione appeared to be very interested in her feet all of a sudden, but Harry didn't let go that easy.

"Is he a dark wizard ?"

Still no answer.

"Does Malfoy know him ?"

A snort. "He's dead."

"Oh. Tell me, why do you feel so uncomfortable talking about him ?"

Hermione stopped walking, looking at Harry for the first time since they had left the meeting room.

"Harry, have you ever heard of the Marquis de Sade ?"

He tried to search his brain to come up with something, but failed.

"He was a writer, a contemporary of Napoleon."

"Why is Malfoy so interested in him ? Did he write something about Dark Magic ?"

"No, he was a muggle."

"Hermione!" Harry started to get worried, normally it wasn't that hard to extract information from her, she usually poured it all out over anyone who happened to be in the vicinity.

"He wrote … em, well. He. He wrote erotic novels."

"Oh." Harry felt his cheeks burn again.

"Not the fluffy kind." Hermione added. "His name was the basis for the word 'sadism'".

Harry grabbed both of her arms.

"Malfoy didn't do anything to you, did he ?" Concern showed in his dark green eyes.

"No, no. I'm fine." She assured him, but she didn't look it. Harry promised himself he would keep an eye on her, especially when Malfoy was near.

The remainder of the day passed without any further alarming disturbances. They had told Ron about their encounter with professor Palmer in detail, but still couldn't decide whether she was as nice as she seemed or if it was all a charade.

They looked forward to their first Dark Arts lesson on Thursday, the other Gryffindors – mostly the boys assured them she was an incredible teacher. Hermione was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, considering her satisfactory intervention in her confrontation with Malfoy, but wanted a first hand experience to judge her teaching abilities.

After the lesson she wholeheartedly agreed with the boys. It had been most interesting. Professor Palmer had teamed them up to practise their duelling skills. Contrary to their previous experience with duelling during their second year, they actually learned something useful this time. At first they practised the 'Expelliarmus' spell, which Harry and Ron were already familiar with. Then they went on to some blocking spells, which were much fun to practise, each and every one of them tumbling on the floor when the spell they threw at their opponent was successfully blocked. Even Neville managed to slow Hermione down when she cast a tickling spell on him.

During their first weekend, Hedwig returned with a note from Sirius. He was happy that Harry was back at Hogwarts with his friends. No, he couldn't tell where he was or what he was doing, but he assured Harry he would see him before the new year.

"Before the new year !" Harry exclaimed. "Has he got any idea how long that is ?"

Ron and Hermione tried to be supportive, but didn't want Harry to think Sirius was engaged in something dangerous, so there wasn't much they could say to him that helped.

It was Sunday night all too soon and when Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall for dinner, all it took was one look at the Head Table to tell them the next week wouldn't be as pleasant.

At the far end of the table, dark and brooding, like he'd never been away, sat their Potions Master. He looked as menacing as ever and seeing him sitting there, his expressionless eyes scanning the Great Hall like a hawk, it was hard to believe that only a few days ago, he had been nothing but a bundle of filthy robes.

"Look." Ron hissed.

They turned their heads in unison at the entrance of the Great Hall. Professor Palmer had just walked in. Harry averted his eyes to look at Snape's reaction to his new colleague.

At first he didn't notice anything different about him, but later, when everyone was eating their dinner, Harry looked up again and what he saw nearly took his breath away.

He must have gasped, for both Ron and Hermione followed his gaze and displayed a similar reaction.

"My God, I have never seen such an intense look of fear on anyone's face before, let alone Snape's." Ron said.

"Why would he be so afraid of Professor Palmer ?" Hermione asked.

"I dunno." Harry murmured.

"Maybe he recognised her, you know, from you-know-who's intimate circle. She might be the one they sent to check on him." Ron saw his theory confirmed once more.

"No." Harry answered. "Voldemort explicitly told Malfoy to do that."

"Maybe it's Malfoy taking polyjuice potion." Ron hadn't given up yet.

"And make his son apologise to Gryffindors ? I don't think so." Hermione added her bit.

"But she did act as Head of Slytherin." Harry continued.

"Harry, will you finally make up your mind whether you're going to trust her or not ? I mean, Dumbledore let himself be fooled one time, he's not going to let that happen again is he ? Not the greatest wizard of all time !"

"Hagrid would be pleased to hear you say that." Ron grinned. "Oh well, maybe we're reading too much into this. For all we know, she might know some deep dark secret about him, something even Dumbledore doesn't know, maybe something embarrassing."

"I guess it will remain a mystery, but I must admit I kind of like the idea of Snape being scared out of his wits by a woman." Hermione laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 4: Detectives

"Do you call this BROWN, Potter ?" Harry cringed. He expected the sneer, still, how hard he tried to brace himself, the venomous acid kept burning painful holes in his self esteem. It looked like their Potions teacher was back in the habit, after two weeks of taking it slow. He lowered his head, staring down miserably at the thick orange liquid in his cauldron.

"No sir." He answered, afraid of what was to come.

Nothing.

Harry glanced up. The expression on Snape's face was unreadable, as always, but the usual disdain was missing. Was he a bit off-colour ? By now, Gryffindor should be losing a massive amount of points, but instead, Snape took the wooden spoon out of Harry's hands, stirred the colourful brew and reached for a small jar on the corner of Harry's desk.

"Now, watch closely, all of you, while I show you how to restore this abominable attempt at potion brewing."

All gathered around Harry's desk, the Slytherins snickering, the Gryffindors slightly aghast. Was this going to lead to a new level of humiliation in front of their mortal enemies or was Snape actually … teaching ?

Both groups of students were left stunned when neither of them got what they expected. The lesson simply continued and Snape did explain to them how they could reverse a potion that had gone awry.

However, Harry received an extra assignment on the necessity of exact measurements.

"That was weird." Ron said when they walked to lunch.

"Yeah, I was sure I was going to cop it bad." Harry agreed. "Well, I do have two scrolls to fill with complete nonsense before the end of the week" He added.

"That's not so awful, is it ? It could have been much worse." Hermione intervened. 

"Do you reckon he hasn't fully recovered yet ? He's been back for a while now." Ron whispered, careful no one overheard them.

"Oh really Ron, Snape's not that bad. I mean, sure, he's always had it in for us, but lets face it, most of the time we had it coming."

Both Ron and Harry looked astonished at her.

"What?" They exclaimed in one voice.

"Don't get on your high horses just yet, I only meant to say we never consider his point of view and we DO get into a lot of trouble." She shot them a stern look, which gave her a striking resemblance to Professor McGonagall.

"Lets drop it, shall we ? I don't think I want to argue about Snape's right to treat us badly." Harry ended the conversation.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, mumbling something about immature boys.

As the week progressed, Harry didn't think much about Snape's strange behaviour any more. It wasn't like he had become their best friend or anything, far from it. So Harry just thanked whatever God made Snape think twice about taking points from Gryffindor.

Then, on Friday afternoon, when he went down to the dungeons to deliver his assignment, all thoughts about Snape behaving slightly out of character were banned from his mind.

He was about to knock on the door to Snape's office when he noticed it was ajar. 

That was not all. He distinctively could overhear two voices, arguing. One of them had to be Snape and the other one was the soft, soothing whisper that belonged to Dumbledore. Harry leaned back against the wall, not wanting to overhear a private conversation between Snape and the Headmaster. But what could he do ? If he went back they might hear his footsteps, come after him and, knowing Snape, jump to the conclusion that Harry had been eavesdropping. A detention with Filch would be the best case scenario after facing a fuming Snape. No, he should just advance and knock on the door, just like he intended to do. Feeling brave, and strengthened by Dumbledore's presence, Harry stepped closer to the door and already had his knuckles on the wood when he froze to the spot.

"How could you bring her here Albus ? Don't you realise who she is ?"

The desperate tone in Snape's voice was a new one and Harry found himself unable to move, holding his breath.

"Of course I do Severus. You don't have to remind me."

"Then you should know it's insane! The danger." The usually monotonous voice now cracked, breaking into a shriek.

Harry couldn't stop himself. He just had to know why Snape was so terrified of their new DADA-teacher. He was sure they were talking about her. His mind working overtime to process the information, he nearly missed Dumbledore's next words.

"I understand why it frightens you to have Jessica here. But believe me, there was no other way. I hope you won't let this interfere with your work."

Snape must have made some affirmative sign, because Dumbledore continued: "Good. I'll leave you then, but please Severus, don't hesitate to come to me for help. I know you chose to continue your extra-curricular activities and, although I would prefer it if you gave them up, I have to admit it's the only way we can know …"

"Yes Albus, I am well aware of the risks, as I am of your support."

There was a silence. Harry dared to take a peek inside and nearly let his mouth drop. He also had to bite his tongue not to burst out in laughter, for he thought he had never seen such a ludicrous sight as his Headmaster holding his protesting Potions teacher in a firm hug. The expression on Snape's face was one of sheer horror and Harry thought he might have preferred to face a dozen Death Eaters instead of receiving this token of affection from the Headmaster.

Then Harry had to jump away when Dumbledore came out the door, making his way back to his own quarters.

He waited a few minutes before he knocked on the door.

It seemed Professor Snape had had enough time to recover from his chat with Dumbledore and he greeted Harry with his trademark sneer.

"Finally found your way to my office, Potter ?"

"Yes Sir. I'm bringing you my assignment, as you requested." 

Harry handed over his essay and prepared himself for another denigrating remark, but Snape accepted it without as much as a grunt. It made him look up to his professor, searching the poker face in front if him for clues. Snape was obviously still upset about his conversation with the Headmaster, but Harry didn't have any idea why. So he blurted out the first thing that came to mind:

"A … Are you alright, Sir ?" Harry asked, concern showing in his eyes.

Snape flinched, as if he snapped out of a trance.

"Alright ? Of course I'm alright, don't be ridiculous. Now. What are you still doing here ? Get out, you foolish boy and let me get back to work." 

He sounded slightly annoyed and Harry complied all too willingly, first of all because Snape wasn't the most agreeable company to be in and secondly, and maybe more importantly, because he could hardly wait to inform Ron and Hermione on what he had heard.

*

His friends were impressed with what he had to tell them.

"I told you she was bad news." Ron glowed.

"Huh, you were the one that called her 'an angel'." Hermione mocked his first appraisal of the new teacher.

Ron turned a bright pink, but didn't let it disturb him. "At least this proves she's here to get to Snape and, well; maybe even to you too Harry."

Harry suddenly felt the centre of attention.

"I don't know. It looks that way, but then again, she hasn't exactly done anything wrong up till now."

"Of course not. Dumbledore must be watching her like a hawk, you heard what he said. He probably wants her here to keep an eye on her."

"Maybe."

Harry still wasn't convinced. He couldn't tell why, it was just a feeling he had. Hermione didn't seem to be entirely on Ron's side, but she was getting a bit suspicious as well.

"I still want to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I do think it's best to keep an eye out. Be careful Harry." She said before she went off to bed.

Harry laid awake for a long time that night, unsure of what to think. When he finally fell asleep, he had a most upsetting dream about Professor Palmer being sent to Azkaban for murdering Snape, Dumbledore insisting she was innocent.

They slept in the next day. There never was much to do on a Saturday that wasn't part of a Hogsmeade weekend now the Quidditch season had yet to start.

After a quick visit to Hagrid's place, Hermione dragged the both of them towards the library.

"Nooooooo, no studying on a Saturday. OWL's are miles away!" Ron moaned.

"We're not going there to study." Hermione said, with a mischievous spark in her eyes.

"Ugh ?"

"It occurred to me when we were at Hagrid's. I couldn't stop thinking about it. That's when I realised the answer would be in the library."

"You've lost me there Hermione. What on earth are you talking about ? What is it you can't stop thinking about ? Which answer to what is in the library and what has Hagrid to do with it ?" Ron asked.

"Actually Hagrid hasn't got anything to do with it, I told you I was only thinking. I mean about Professor Palmer of course. I know a way to find out more about her."

"How ?" Harry was interested.

"Ron, having three brothers graduated from Hogwarts, you should know the Yearbooks."

"Oh yeah. But I can't see what …Oh."

"What ?" Harry, who didn't know any Hogwarts graduates was still clueless.

"After you finish seventh year, you receive a Yearbook, containing pictures of your and your housemates' years at Hogwarts. Since Professor Palmer was a student here, she's bound to be in one of them. If the information in the Yearbook doesn't tell us what we want to know, we can always contact someone in her year."

"I didn't know they existed!" Harry exclaimed.

"I had totally forgotten about them, but sitting in Hagrid's hut I thought about how he had been in the same year as You-Know-Who and, well, my mind just wandered."

"Brilliant. Let's go." Ron immediately began to browse the 'Hogwarts' section, anxious to get some answers.

Not knowing her age, they selected a rather large amount of Slytherin Yearbooks.

"She doesn't look younger than Bill, so we might start there." Ron suggested.

"No, I think we better begin with the year of the Marauders, remember Snape seems to know her." Hermione disagreed.

"She's much younger than that slimy git !"

"How would you know ? No, I say we begin with Snape's year and continue to the more recent years until we find her."

"I also think that might be better, Ron." Harry agreed with Hermione, resulting in a disgruntled look from Ron.

"Oh, look ! 'Severus Snape, fourth year student, receiving the International Students' Potions Award'."

A picture of a young Professor Snape, holding a golden vial, had Hermione mesmerised.

"Impressive, but not what we're looking for. Keep going."

They scanned the Yearbooks until they came to the graduates from the year before they had started school themselves.

"She's not in it. Unbelievable !" Ron sighed. "That … that can't be, can it ?"

"It can. But it means she's not a Slytherin."

"That would explain why she didn't take Malfoy's side, but it doesn't add up to her acting as temporary Head of Slytherin."

"Maybe she was a Ravenclaw ?" Hermione suggested, and she replaced the pile of green books for blue ones.

To speed things up, they each browsed a different year. Harry didn't seem to have much luck, neither did Ron, but all of a sudden, Hermione squeaked excitedly.

"What is it ? Have you found her ?"

"No. But I did find something else. Did you know Snape has a sister ? Well, he does and she was a Ravenclaw, six years younger than him."

"That's weird. I always thought Snape came from a dynasty of Slytherins, like Malfoy." Harry mused.

"Who knows what else we're going to find out … maybe Professor Palmer was a Huffelpuf!" Ron added his bit.

"Nah." Harry and Hermione simultaneously discarded that option.

They continued to search the Ravenclaw Yearbooks, but other than yet one more Snape-girl, they didn't find anything of interest.

"Well…"

They shot each other meaningful looks as Harry closed the last blue book.

"This means …"

"She has to be a Gryffindor." Ron whispered, almost in awe.

"Let's not waste time then." Hermione said and set off to work.

Harry took the time to read his parents' Yearbook, his eyes filling with tears upon seeing them so happy and alive.

Ron and Hermione continued in silence, aware of the sentimental value it represented to their friend.

"Typical she has to be in the very last one." Hermione said, picking up the only remaining book on the table in front of her.

"No no, that's the one I started with." Ron intervened, looking a bit guilty for not putting it on the 'finished' pile.

"What do you mean ? We still have to do the year after the Marauders."

Harry looked up and the three of them knew they were on to something.

"So the secrecy continues." Hermione murmured.

"Not necessarily." Harry jumped up. "Sirius has to know her, he was only one year her senior. I'll go write to him right away."

Excited about being so close to the solution of the riddle, they hurried towards the owlery, earning a disapproving 'tuttut-tut' from Professor McGonagall when she saw them scampering through the passages.


	5. Chapter 5

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 5 : The Cover Up

Over the next few days, the trio awaited Hedwig's return anxiously, but much to their disappointment, a week had passed and still no news from Sirius had arrived.

Then a small notice on the board in the Gryffindor common room distracted them temporarily. It read: "Quidditch trials coming up the Saturday before Halloween."

Later that day, Harry was asked to go up to Professor McGonagall's office where she gave him some more news.

"As Head of Gryffindor, I have decided to name you Team Captain, Potter. I'm convinced you will lead the team as well as our previous Captain, Mr Wood, did."

Harry stood slightly baffled, just in time realising his Professor would like to hear a reaction from him.

"T-Thank you very much, I will do my best not to disappoint you, Professor."  

"I'm sure you will, Potter. Now, since there were no Quidditch games last year due to the Triwizard Tournament, you are in desperate need of a new Keeper. That is why I organised the trials. We will also be looking for reserve Beaters and Chasers, since all our current players are graduating this year. I will ask you to sit with me and Professor Hooch to judge the trials."

Once again, Harry expressed his gratitude for the confidence placed in him before he returned to his friends, who already seemed to know most of what he had learned from Professor McGonagall.

"I'm going to try out for Chaser." Ron enthusiastically signed up.

Harry smiled encouraging, but hoped he wouldn't have to let his best friend down if his skills didn't live up to expectations.

The Quidditch trials were the talk of the day. It looked like the other Houses would be holding their trials on the same day and much to Harry's dismay he found out that Draco Malfoy had also been named Team Captain. The parallels in their lives were starting to bother him. Was he never going to be able to escape the white haired Slytherin ? First he was made a Prefect and now Team Captain. If this continued, Harry would be spending more time with Malfoy in meetings than joking around with Ron.

Speaking of Prefects, it was the Gryffindors' turn to make the rounds after curfew this week. At eleven o' clock, Harry looked up from the book he was reading and started to put on his cloak. Strange, normally Hermione would be dragging him with her by now, but she was nowhere in sight.

He was about to climb the stairs to the girls' dormitories when she came in, looking absolutely terrible.

"Harry ? Would you mind waiting a few minutes before you go ? I want to pass by the infirmary first, I think I'm coming down with something." She whispered.

"Why don't you go to bed and have a good rest and I'll go ask Madam Pomfrey to bring you something. It's on my way."

"No no, I can't let you go on your own." She protested, but she sounded weak and looked paler by the minute.

"What? You think Voldemort is going to kidnap me while I'm doing curfew rounds ? Come on, Hogwarts is the best protected place in England, you said so yourself."

"But … but …"

"No buts. You're going back to bed and that's it!" Harry pushed her firmly towards the door she had come through, gave her a peck on the cheek and turned around to start his rounds.

When he walked around Hogwarts' passages, he absentmindedly rubbed his scar. It had been bothering him again tonight, but not as bad as at the end of the holidays. Then he remembered seeing Snape clutch his left arm earlier that night after dinner. He had his mark there. Voldemort probably called another meeting, but wasn't doing anything vicious in particular, otherwise Harry wouldn't be able to walk around so calmly.

After dropping by the infirmary, he headed towards the greenhouses. It was a very popular meeting place for romantic souls, and he wanted to make sure none of them would have to bear the humiliation of being discovered by Snape. Then again, if he had indeed been summoned, he wouldn't be handing out any detentions this evening. Harry almost hoped it could have been different.

He checked the greenhouses twice, all the plants and bushes made it difficult to see whether anyone was hiding in there.

On his way back to the castle, he noticed a dark figure on the front lawn, not far from the outskirts of the Forest.

His heart missed a beat as he took off towards the shadow on the ground, knowing very well who it had to be.

When he arrived by his side, Professor Snape had managed to get up on all fours, tried to stand up, but his legs trembled and he collapsed again.

"Professor Snape! Be careful. Let me …" 

Harry held his arm under Snape's to support him, but instead of rising with him, Snape pulled him down, took his head in both shaking hands and brought his mouth to his ear.

"The Leaky Cauldron. Tonight. Albus. Now." He whispered, catching his breath as if he had been running a marathon.

"Erm, I … er…" For a moment, Harry was unsure of what to do next. Here he had an obviously wounded Professor Snape, though nothing near the state he had been in only a few weeks ago, and at the same time he was being urged to leave him alone. Shouldn't he help him first ?

"Go Potter. NOW!" Snape croaked and loosened his grip on Harry, his arms falling limp against his body that now laid stretched out on the ground. 

"Good. Good boy." Was the last thing Harry heard him murmuring and now he wasn't so sure of the lightness of the injuries anymore. Maybe he had suffered brain damage ?

He no longer hesitated and ran in record time towards the castle. He burst in, slammed the door against the wall, and sprinted in the direction of Dumbledore's office. It was late, but somehow he thought the Headmaster would still be up.

The gargoyle leapt aside and Harry jumped up the stairs, not waiting for the moving spiral to take him to the door.

The door was opened the same moment he reached the last step and a very alarmed looking Dumbledore let him in.

"Prof-professor Snape. He's lying there." He waved his arm towards the walls while catching his breath. "Asked me to tell you." Another short breath. "The Leaky Cauldron. Tonight." Some more panting. "I don't know what that means, but he's hurt. Not too bad I think. Hope." He wanted to reassure Dumbledore, clearly recalling the tears he had seen running down the old wizard's cheeks the previous time Professor Snape had been hurt.

"Right." Was the only answer he got.

Dumbledore quickly threw some powder in his fireplace and called out:

"Jessica! Severus is outside, injured, can you take him to the Hospital Wing ? I'm sending young Harry down, he will point out the exact location. I'm heading off now."

As soon as the green flames had died out, he threw some more powder into the fire and stepped inside this time.

"Harry, go downstairs and meet Professor Palmer, she'll tell you what to do next. Don't worry." And he was gone.

Harry, still a bit in shock, obeyed silently and ran downstairs, though not with the same speed as he had come up with.

Professor Palmer was already standing outside the front door, fully clothed, when Harry came down.

"Where is he Harry ?" Her voice sounded calm, but the wringing hands and flickering eyes betrayed her fright.

He took her to the place where he had left Snape. The Potions Professor was barely visible now the moon was obscured by a cloud. When they reached him, Professor Palmer conjured a stretcher, hovered the unconscious body onto it and did a quick examination.

"There doesn't seem to be any severe injuries, but can you go up to the infirmary and warn Madam Pomfrey I'm bringing her a patient ?" Relief sounded through her voice and Harry was more than happy to be of assistance.

When he finally got back to Gryffindor Tower, he found himself dead-tired and fell asleep before he even had the chance to undress.

The next morning held a few surprises in store. The first was by far the most pleasant one, in the form of a fully recovered Hermione. She was as cheerful as ever and after hearing Harry's story, she heartily agreed with Ron that Harry seemed to be having all the excitement on his own this year.

"Last night was one excitement I'd be more than happy to share." Was Harry's comment.

"Yeah, but you have to agree these things only seem to happen to you, don't you think Hermione ? Hermione ?" Ron repeated when their friend seemed to be lost in thought.

"What I think ? Well, right now I'm wondering how Snape was able to obtain the information." 

If she had landed a bombshell she couldn't have made them look more flabbergasted.

"Meaning ?" Ron was the first one to recover.

"Voldemort knows he's a spy, right ? Then, how come he suddenly has come into the possession of some vital information ? Who gave it to him ? Does this mean Snape isn't the only spy or are we missing something ?"

"Er …"

"Maybe he listened in on a conversation ?" Harry suggested.

"Maybe." But Hermione didn't seem convinced, judging by the thoughtful look on her face.

Snape was sitting in his usual seat at breakfast, as if last night had only been a bad dream, but Harry noticed Professor Palmer shooting worried looks at her colleague.

Dumbledore was nowhere in sight and Harry hoped he was alright.

Then mail arrived.

Ron grabbed his copy of the Daily Prophet to scan for the news on last night's events.

There was nothing spectacular on the front page, neither on page two, three, four and so on.

Finally, after they had all but given up, Hermione pointed out a small article at the bottom of the last page. It titled: "ROW IN PUB"

The short paragraph reported about a fight in the Leaky Cauldron between a few intoxicated wizards. There was some material damage, but other than a couple of black eyes, nobody had been injured.

"What ?" Harry gasped.

"That doesn't sound like something Dumbledore would rush off to." Ron remarked.

"And he seemed to be expecting it." Hermione added.

"Yeah." Harry was still too astonished to say more.

"Do you think someone tricked Snape into delivering the wrong information ?" Ron asked.

"Does Snape seem easy to trick to you ?" Hermione responded.

Not knowing what to think about the lack of news in the paper, they quietly left the Great Hall and walked outside for their first lesson of the day, being Care of Magical Creatures.

When they returned for lunch, they saw two familiar faces heading their way, two freckled familiar faces. 

"Bill! Charlie !" Ron called out to his brothers. "What are you two doing here ?"

Harry looked at the eldest Weasleys and noticed their dishevelled appearance. Bill's robe was torn in different places, Charlie tried to cover up a bandage and they both seemed to be lacking sleep.

"You came back with Dumbledore, didn't you." Harry interrupted the fraternal reunion.

"Huh ?" Charlie seemed to be looking for an excuse, but Bill smiled, winked at Harry and nodded.

"Yes, we did."

They walked a bit further away from the school so they could not be overheard while Charlie and Bill told them about the previous night.

"There was a Death Eater raid on the Leaky Cauldron. We barely managed to get there in time. There were quite a few casualties."

"Tom ?" Harry was almost afraid to inquire after the owner.

"He will be fine, only a few cuts and bruises."

"We looked in the Daily Prophet, but there was only a minor reference to some kind of bar brawl." Harry said.

"Why wouldn't there be anything in the paper about a Death Eater attack ? They love getting a good scoop." Ron asked.

"We know. That's why we were still here. Dumbledore wants us to spread the word, but it's a lost cause if you ask me. There's only a hand full of us and we're up to our necks in hunting down the bad guys and preventing attacks, there's no way we can reach the entire wizarding world if Fudge goes out of his way to cover it all up." Bill sounded bitter.

"But that's dangerous! People will think everything's alright and won't be on their guard." Hermione squeaked.

"Maybe Fudge doesn't want them to panic, but he's reducing them to sitting ducks. Voldemort will be laughing his head off." Harry didn't notice Bill and Charlie cringing when he used the Dark Lord's name, but Ron and Hermione were used to it by now, they even had stopped saying 'you-know-who' themselves.

"We better be off now, mum will be worried if we don't get home soon." Charlie waved goodbye before the both of them took off towards Hogsmeade.

"We have to go to Dumbledore and tell him we know." Ron stamped his foot angrily.

"And then do what ?"

"You're right Harry. Dumbledore already knows what's going on and he doesn't need us nagging at him." 

"Then what are you suggesting ?" 

Hermione narrowed her eyes as if she was concentrating very hard. "I think it's time we called a few favours. One big favour to be exact." She answered mysteriously.


	6. Chapter 6

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 6: The Underground Express

"Huh ?"

Harry and Ron looked dazed.

"Who are we going to ask for which favour ?"

Hermione rushed off towards the castle, smiling to them over her shoulder.

"I'll tell you all about it later, I need to organise a few things first." 

"I hate it when she does that. I bet she's gone straight to the library. As if that's going to be of any use right now." Ron sulked.

Harry didn't say anything, he was as much in the dark as Ron, but he did notice that Hermione was definitely NOT going to the library. If he had to make a guess, he'd probably say she was heading for the owlery.

They didn't see Hermione for the rest of the day, partly because they had Divination and it wasn't on her curriculum.

That evening, back in Gryffindor common room, Ron had other things to question her about.

"Why is your name on the list for the Quidditch trials ? I thought you hated flying ?" Ron asked her.

She sighed deeply and beckoned the both of them to move closer so she could whisper.

"Neville wanted to participate, but he was afraid he'd make a fool of himself and get laughed at. I felt sorry for him, so, knowing my – ahem – troubles with flying, I thought he might relax a bit if he knew someone else was going to look an even bigger fool."

"Very noble of you, but why are you trying out as a beater ?"

"Eh, well, I didn't really know what to choose, so I just closed my eyes and pointed at one of the three vacant positions and beater it was."

"Aren't you afraid ?" Harry asked, a bit worried.

Hermione smirked. "I'm a Gryffindor, aren't I ?"

*

The next morning Harry and Ron tried to lure some more information out of Hermione about the favour that would help Bill and Charlie, but she didn't let anything slip.

"I'll tell you when the time is right." She said, firmly.

They were all a bit restless by the time they got to Defence Against the Dark Arts, which was the last class before a Hogsmeade weekend. Professor Palmer didn't seem to notice however and from the beginning of the lesson, she asked Harry and Hermione to come forward.

"Now I know you all have studied how to set up protective wards in Charms. Once you've set up a ward, around your house for example, it will be impossible for other wizards to enter it without your permission. However, part of Dark Magic specialises to overrule such charms."

Each and every one of the students instantly forgot all about Hogsmeade. It looked like it was going to be another very interesting DADA lesson.

Harry and Hermione stood in front of their fellow students. Professor Palmer smiled at them and turned her attention to Harry first.

"Harry, will you cast the most powerful warding charm you know on yourself, please ?"

Harry concentrated very hard. He was a little nervous, all of a sudden afraid he wouldn't remember the right incantation. Hermione was so much better at it than he was. 

He was about to tell the Professor just that, when it came to him.

"Defendo Corpus". Harry said when he pointed his wand at himself.

Professor Palmer looked pleased.

"You can all see for yourself that nothing significant has changed in Harry's appearance. Indeed, wards are never visible, but I'm sure Professor Flitwick has told you all about that. What I want to focus on right now, is breaking through the wards. Hermione, be my guest."

She nodded at Hermione, signalling her to proceed. Harry felt his stomach turn. It was alright for Professor Palmer to say nothing could get through the ward, but maybe she didn't know Hermione that well. It was only her first year at Hogwarts after all. His inner voice ordered his legs not to tremble and he courageously held his head up high, ready for whatever was about to happen.

He needn't have worried.

No matter what spell Hermione tried, and she did throw what seemed like an entire arsenal at him, it was all in vain. The only thing that happened was a faint blue light surrounding him, as if he was standing in a giant bubble, when her spell hit his ward.

Finally Professor Palmer decided they had seen enough.

"I trust you understand by now that no ordinary magic can break through a ward. True, there are more complicated wards than the one Harry used and wards CAN be tricked, but as a general rule, magic is not supposed to break through a ward."

The entire class held their breath. Something big was about to happen, they could tell. Hermione was allowed to go and sit down again, but Harry remained in front of the class.

"Now, what I'm about to show you, is merely an example. Should you ever see something like what you're about to see now, you better go and look for a powerful wizard, because only Dark Magic can attempt and succeed to break through a ward."

She pointed her wand at Harry and mumbled a long string of unintelligible words.

Everyone in the classroom gasped when they saw the blue sparks shooting from Harry's bubble. It was like lightning trying to break through a force field and all of them were sure they would never forget this sight.

She stopped after all students had got a clear view of what was happening, just when the bubble was on the verge of collapsing.

"Now; I don't think I have to remind you not to try this at home ?" She quirked an eyebrow as if she wanted to challenge one of them to repeat what she just did.

"As if we wanted to try anything like that !" Ron exclaimed once they had been dismissed.

"Honestly she's getting weirder every day. Goodness Harry, she could have killed you in there !"

"I think we should stop thinking she's evil. Just because she's the DADA-teacher doesn't mean she's got a hidden agenda." Harry reasoned.

"Yeah, besides, this lesson was really useful. Especially with all this bad stuff happening recently. They can't expect us to graduate without knowing what's out there waiting for us." Hermione continued.

They left the subject as it was and had an early night. Hermione seemed to be a bit preoccupied and they only got a faint 'goodnight' from her.

The next morning, she was absolutely bursting with energy, urging them to finish their breakfast so they could get to Hogsmeade early.

"Easy easy. You don't want us to choke on our sausages, do you ?" Ron remarked.

Harry had never seen her so impatient to go to Hogsmeade and after his first cup of coffee, it occurred to him.

"It's about that thing you were organizing, isn't ?" Harry smiled. "You're going to tell us when we get to Hogsmeade."

Hermione beamed up at him.

"Then why didn't you just say so ?!" Ron dragged Harry with him from the table, quickly stuffing a piece of toast in his mouth.

They were probably the first students to arrive in Hogsmeade, considering the early hour. The magical town seemed to be still asleep and both Honeydukes and Zonko's were closed.

Hermione steered them in the direction of the Three Broomsticks.

"Isn't it a bit early for Butterbear ?" Ron mumbled, but Harry felt too exited to respond. He felt something important was about to happen, or maybe it was just Hermione's tension rubbing off on him.

"Before we go in, I want to ask both of you to stay calm and let me do the talking. Oh, and Harry, I'm really, really sorry about this, but it seemed to be the only way." Hermione said and then she opened the door and walked in.

Ron looked like he was about to demand an explanation, but then Harry stepped into the Pub and all his questions were answered when he saw the only other customer present.

"Her!" He had almost shouted, the astonishment temporarily blocking his mind from the only apparent reason for her being there.

Hermione motioned them to sit down with her and they hesitantly did so.

"Thank you for coming here on such short notice." She began.

"I must say I was very surprised to hear from you, asking me to come here of all places. But, I guess …" She shot a nervous glance in Harry's direction and if he hadn't been there and seen it with his very own eyes, Harry would have never believed Rita Skeeter could look so humble and afraid. Was she afraid of him ? Or Hermione ?

"I apologise for not going into details in my letter, but I'm sure your meeting with Dumbledore has cleared up a few things." Hermione continued.

"Dumbledore was here ?" Harry asked, while Ron was still busy gaping at the former reporter.

"Yes, since I'm no longer allowed to enter Hogwarts' grounds he came to talk to me here yesterday evening. He was quite clear of what he wanted from me. As I understand it, it was all your plan ?" She nodded at Hermione.

"Can we finally know what that plan is. Please ?" Ron had regained enough of his composure to form a meaningful sentence.

"I thought that would be clear by now." Hermione looked at the boys and with a sigh she concluded some more explaining was in order.

"You remember Bill and Charlie telling us how Dumbledore wanted the wizarding world to know about what happened in The Leaky Cauldron ? Well, it got me thinking. This probably isn't the first and won't be the last incident the Ministry tries to cover up. All the official newspapers and radio stations are controlled by the Ministry, so there's only one way to reach the entire community."

"A clandestine newspaper." Rita jumped in.

"Oh." Harry could see now why Hermione had contacted Rita Skeeter. At the end of last term, Hermione had captured Rita Skeeter in her animagus form and only agreed to free her if she promised not to write for another year. Therefore, she had lost her job at the Daily Prophet. She was free to devote as much time as was needed and she possessed the necessary skill and slyness to pull off such a stunt.

"What gives us the assurance you won't write idle gossip and create a panic ?" Ron asked suspicious, not ready to trust a former enemy as quickly as Hermione and Dumbledore seemed to be.

"I-I had a lot of time to think about the bad things that came from the stuff I wrote last year. I – I never meant to hurt you Harry." She looked pleadingly.

"I never imagined …" It was almost surreal to see her so subdued, the change was spectacular, but being locked in a glass jar for more than a month would be therapeutic, if not traumatising to say the least.

"When Dumbledore told me about the plan, I was instantly drawn to it. It … it made me remember all the reasons why I wanted to be a reporter for. I want to inform the people. Make sure everyone knows what's going on. They have a right to. To the truth. I WILL write the truth and nothing but the truth. Only if Dumbledore feels it's necessary to soften a few things in order not to create a panic I will adjust my writing."

The change in her was remarkable. The fire in her eyes as she spoke about spreading the truth among the wizarding world was inspiring and Harry could indeed catch a glimpse of a young Rita Skeeter, full of ideals, ready to change the world, spreading the news.

And he found himself believing her. Instinctively he knew she was sincere. He gave her a weak smile. The happiness it put in her eyes made him grin wider.

"There's one more thing." Hermione added. "Actually, it's the reason why I wanted you to meet us. Dumbledore could have explained all the rest."

"Yes ?" 

Ron and Harry were wondering what else was troubling Hermione, but then they knew.

"Have you ever heard of a Jessica Palmer ? She's our new DADA teacher, in her mid-thirties. We believe she was a Gryffindor, but there's no record of her. That's to say, her yearbook is missing from the Library and we just thought it was a little odd. Maybe if you could ask around a bit ?"

Harry held his breath while Rita thought deeply.

"I don't recall ever hearing that name, so she certainly wasn't a known Death Eater, if that's what's troubling you. I'll ask around, but I won't promise anything."

They were obviously disappointed, but afterwards Hermione said she didn't really expect Rita to know her.

"I thought it was worth a try."

The rest of the day, Harry and Ron showered Hermione with all the sweets she could eat, claiming she was the smartest witch alive.

"As if we didn't already know." Harry added.

Hermione glowered, she had feared that her friends wouldn't like the involvement of Rita Skeeter. Ron said he wasn't fond of the idea, but if Dumbledore was willing to keep an eye on her …

"You certainly have been busy these past days. Going as far as to involve the Headmaster in your scheming!" Ron couldn't stop voicing his awe.

"Oh, being a Prefect does help when you want the Headmaster to cooperate." She said nonchalantly.

They eagerly awaited the first edition of the 'Underground Express' as named by Dumbledore.

The next Monday, during breakfast, a large flock of owls invaded the Great Hall, each carrying a whole stack of parchments.

Every student received a single piece of parchment, containing only one article, titled:

"MINISTRY COVER UP IN DEATH EATER RAID ON LEAKY CAULDRON"

The article was a minute representation of the events in the previous week, without mentioning the names of those involved.

It concluded with some words of advice, telling the public not to worry all too much, there were top-Aurors working on the case, but to stay alert nevertheless. Also, an appeal was made to report anything out of the ordinary. 

The article created quite a stir among the students, but much to Harry's relief, no one seemed to panic. A quick glance at the Head Table showed him the teachers probably had all been aware of what today's mail would bring. He felt Snape's piercing stare on him and turned his head around to meet it. There was no expression in the deep dark pools, as usual, but his lips were curled in amusement and Harry thought it was the best he had looked in ages.

The Underground Express was much talked about during the day and between all the exited chatter, it was almost impossible for the trio to talk privately.

Finally, near the end of the day, they were able to assess the impact of the first issue.

"Did you notice ? Even the Slytherins looked baffled. That means Malfoy didn't know this was coming either." Hermione said.

"Huh. I think there's lots of things Malfoy doesn't know of. He just pretends he knows, hoping it will make him look important." Ron spat. He was still upset about Malfoy hexing him earlier that day right before Potions, leaving him with purple spots in his face all through the lesson because Snape refused to let him go to the Infirmary.

Harry's attention had wandered off when he noticed a white moving spot closing in on them.

"Hey, I think … No, it IS Hedwig!" He exclaimed, opening the window to let her in.

"She has a letter ! From Snuffles!" Ron, equally as exited as his friend, hauled the bird inside.

"Look at the size of it! That's more than just a letter." Hermione remarked.

"We need to read it somewhere private." Harry said, pointing at the number of students that were heading their way.

"Come along, I know an old classroom at the fourth floor. Nobody ever goes there." 

Hermione lead the way upstairs, the boys trailing her in silence, Harry clinging to the package in his hands.

Ron kept looking over his shoulder as if he was expecting somebody to follow them.

Harry had the odd feeling they were not alone as well, but Hermione seemed to know where she was going.

When they got to the fourth floor, they walked past what looked like a series of abandoned laboratories, to reach an open door at the end of the passage.

Hermione slowed down as she was about to enter, letting the boys catch up with her.

Right before they went through the doorway they came to an abrupt halt.

A major shock paralysed Harry's movements, the lack of sounds telling him his friends were experiencing a similar situation. His eyes were practically popping out of his head, his mouth had dropped what felt like ten feet and he felt a blush creeping up his cheeks as he, Hermione and Ron, stared in unison at the unreal scene in front of them.

In there, in the cold and dusty classroom, were their Potions and DADA teachers, clinging onto each other for dear life, engaged in what could only be described as a passionate kiss.

Hermione was the first to recover from the shock and pulled them away from the room, speeding up as the distance between them and their professors grew larger.

In the end they were running as fast as they could, as if the devil was on their heels and Professor McGonagall, who once again saw the trio swirl past her, contemplated whether there was something wrong with the air in the fifth year dormitories.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Trial Time

"Did … did you see that too ?" Ron asked breathlessly when they stormed inside the Gryffindor common room, which appeared to be abandoned.

"Umpfh." Harry had the feeling he left his wit on the fourth floor, shock still numbing his ability to think or speak.

"Do you think she seduced him to make him reveal the whereabouts of the thing he took from Voldemort ?" Ron tried to dissolve the mystery.

"Er…" Was all Harry could say.

"Of course not. How many times do I have to tell you she's not on Voldemort's side !" Hermione seemed to be the first to be fully recovered.

"Then he must have put her under Imperius to prevent her from doing any harm." Ron concluded.

"Huh ?"

"Oh Ron will you cut it out! Dumbledore would surely know if someone cast an Unforgivable inside Hogwarts and besides, what makes you think Professor Snape needs to put her under a spell  to kiss her ?"

Both boys looked at her, eyes wide open.

"I think that's obvious. Why would an attractive young woman want to kiss a greasy git like Snape ?" Ron retorted.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, the trio was startled by a soft giggle coming from one of the large armchairs by the fire. A red head peeked from behind the chair and Ginny Weasley joined them.

"Ginny! What are you doing here, eavesdropping on us!" Ron shouted almost angry.

"I was here first, besides I already knew about Professor Snape and Professor Palmer."

"This wasn't the first time ?" Harry's first full sentence since the incident.

"Of course, that would explain …" Hermione's eyes narrowed, clearly engrossed in her own thoughts.

"Explain what ?" Harry wanted to know.

"Well, we've been thinking Professor Snape was afraid of her." A snort from Ginny. "But I think we were mistaken. I think he's not afraid _of  _her, but afraid _for_ her."

"No way!" Ron exclaimed.

"It makes sense though. Suppose Voldemort knows Snape has feelings for Professor Palmer, don't you think he would try to harm her to make Snape give back what he took from him ?"

Harry thought about it and decided Hermione might be right.

"You could be on to something here. It would explain a lot, especially her covering for him as Head of Slytherin. They must have known each other while they were at school, maybe they've been dating ever since."

"Ah yuk!" Ron made a foul face. "That's unbearable! To think she'd have to … her and him … I mean, it's disgusting! She's a Gryffindor!"

Hermione and Ginny exchanged a knowing look, which didn't go unnoticed.

"What ?" Harry dared to ask.

"Well, Snape might not be our favourite teacher, but it doesn't mean he's not attractive to women."

"WHAAAT ?" Ron and Harry looked like they were going to faint.

"It's true. Some women like the tall, dark and brooding type." Hermione's cheeks were flushing rapidly.

Harry tried to shut down his ears. He didn't want to know any of this, very soon he'd start to wonder whether Hermione herself liked that kind of man and he really didn't want to go there.

"And he's got a big nose." Both Ginny and Hermione giggled, Harry felt all the blood in his body rush to his cheeks, while Ron looked confused.

"What's the size of a nose got to … oh!" Ron followed Harry's example and turned scarlet.

"Besides, he can be really nice." Ginny added in a tiny voice.

All attention was directed towards her. Even Hermione gave her a questionable look.

"He … he came to see me after, you know." She gave a nod with her head, hinting at her time in the Chamber of Secrets. "He talked to me about stuff. Not that he told me he had been a Death Eater, I only found out at the end of last year like you guys did, but somehow it didn't surprise me. He was kind and caring."

"This is too much, I think I'm going to throw up." Ron stated.

"Ginny,  some things that were said tonight …" Harry started.

"I know Harry, trust me, I can keep a secret."

With that being said, Hermione pointed at the parcel in Harry's arms and he quickly unwrapped it, anxious to read what Sirius had to say about the puzzling Professor Palmer. The package revealed a large book, which turned out to be his parents' Yearbook. The accompanying note read:

"Dear Harry,  I should have thought about this before. It's not right you should have to look up information on your parents in the library, so I hereby include my copy. As for your question about Professor Palmer: I don't know anyone by that name. Then again, I have been experiencing some memory-troubles, so that might not mean anything. But I do trust Albus to see to it that you're not put in any unnecessary danger, not after what happened last year. Take care and I'll see you soon. Love, Snuffles."

"How can he not know her !" Ron gave a disappointed sigh.

"He doesn't remember." Harry said.

"Poor Snuffles." Hermione added.

When the girls returned to their dormitories, Harry and Ron hung around the common room for a little while longer, both feeling too uneasy to go straight to bed.

"This has been one hell of a weird evening." Ron sighed, not knowing how else to deal with it.

"At least _you_ have a big nose." Harry grinned and the boys finally went upstairs, Ron chasing Harry to give him a playful smack on the head.

*

From that day on, Ginny Weasley spent a lot of time with them, most of that time being dedicated to wild speculations about their DADA-teacher. Ron insisted there was something amiss, Harry being torn between the instinctive feeling of trust and his underlying fear of yet another deception, the girls getting all giddy at the thought of a romance blossoming between two of their teachers.

Then the Quidditch Trials took their minds off their teachers' private lives.

There were sixteen candidates for the Gryffindor team, including a trembling Hermione and an even worse looking Neville.

Madam Hooch decided to divide the would-be players into 4 teams, each team consisting of a Keeper, a Beater and two Chasers. There would only be one bludger and no snitch, since they already had a Seeker and a reserve-Seeker.

The teams would be playing matches of 20 minutes against each other, the winner being the team that scored the most goals.

The first match was between a mixed team of second and third years and a team with Neville as Keeper, Hermione as Beater and Ginny and Colin Creevey as Chasers.

Harry whispered a quick prayer, hoping his friends would still be alive after the game.

To his surprise they did extremely well.

Ginny turned out to be quite a revelation, scoring with ease.

Hermione, uncomfortable on her broomstick, but determined to let no harm come to her team members, smashed the bludger to all sides of the pitch, swaying it at the other team's Chasers whenever they were attempting a raid on Ginny or Colin.

As for Neville, he was so scared of either balls, bludger or quaffle, he made all kinds of complicated, and sometimes even ridiculous manoeuvres to dodge the first and kick the latter away from his goal.  

The result was spectacular: Neville's team won their first two games with 90-0 and 120-0 respectively. 

Ron's team was much worse. By the time they had to play Neville's team, they hadn't won a single game and Ron had only scored twice.

Harry's insides twisted into a tight knot, he could feel a doom scenario coming up.

His worst fears were confirmed when Neville's team squashed Ron's with a record-breaking 200-0, which meant either Ginny or Colin had scored once a minute on average.

Even before the last game, Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch gave him a piece of paper with their suggestions. He knew he had to agree with them if he were objective, but in his heart … damn this was so difficult!

By the end of that day, temperature had dropped below zero in the Gryffindor common room. Right after dinner, the names of the selected players were pinned on the message board. Harry didn't need to look at it, he knew the names all too well. An over-enthusiastic Fred Weasley pulled the note from the board and started to read out loud.

"Keeper: Neville Longbottom. Reserve Chasers: Ginny Weasley, Colin Creevey and Nicolas Burke. Reserve Beaters: Hermione Granger and Dennis Creevey."

An outburst of joy and congratulations erupted in the common room. The current Chasers and Beaters that were leaving at the end of the year soon caught up with their replacements, talking excitedly, already trying to give them a taste of what was waiting for them the following year.

Harry went up to Ron, feeling utterly miserable, but Ron didn't want his sympathy.

"Leave it Harry. I expected as much, but it still hurts. Knowing a quivering fuck-up and a witch who's afraid of flying bested me isn't my idea of a party. Hell, even my kid sister did better."

He pushed Harry aside and made his way through the crowd to go up to his dormitory. Halfway through the room Hermione caught up with him and that was the last straw for Ron.

"Get out of my sight, you treacherous adder, they should have sorted you in Slytherin!" He yelled before he stormed out.

Harry put his arm around Hermione, who looked like she was close to tears.

"I honestly never imagined they would choose me." She said sadly. "I don't even _want_ to play!"

"Here here, Ron will come around, you'll see. He'll realise eventually there were other players better than him. And you had nothing to do with it, you were no direct competition for him." Harry tried to comfort her.

"Do-do you think that if I say I don't want to play, they'll give him a chance ?" Hermione asked hopeful.

"Er, since you tried out as a Beater and he as a Chaser, I think that's very unlikely. But you know, there's still a year to go and there will be another trial next year, so it's not hopeless yet."

That seemed to cheer her up, that and the knowledge she could always decline the offer.

Ron stayed in his foul mood for the rest of the week, which only was a burden to himself, because Hermione was busy with her Prefect duties and studying and Harry needed to focus on the first Quidditch match against Slytherin.

The news of the outcome of the Gryffindor trials had been met with amusement and, in case of the Slytherins, mockery. Draco Malfoy didn't waste any time and the very next day he cornered Harry in the entrance hall and said he almost felt like withdrawing from the match, seeing it wouldn't be a challenge now they were bringing cowering fools into the game.

Before Harry had time to react, Professor Palmer called Malfoy to discuss something about his latest DADA essay. Harry got his revenge when a love-struck Malfoy followed his favourite teacher adoringly, with the rest of the students making whistling noises behind his back. Fred and George even went as far as to flutter their eyelashes ferociously, staging a much appreciated parody.

It was late in the afternoon of the day before the match, when Harry walked in on Malfoy and Hermione. Malfoy was standing very close to her with the usual arrogant look on his face, holding her by the wrist. Hermione was trying to free herself from his iron grip, but it only made the evil glint in his eye more apparent. Harry didn't hesitate and increased his pace to rescue his friend. Right before he tore them apart, he heard Malfoy's last comment.

"I hear you make quite some Beater. Are you as fervent in everything you do ?" The tone of his voice suggested more than Harry could comprehend, but Hermione apparently did and at the same time Harry pulled her away from Malfoy, her fist shot out and hit Malfoy on his chin, the surprise making him stumble and fall down. Alarmed, Harry scanned the area for Crabbe or Goyle, but luckily they weren't around. Now they only needed to stay out of reach so Malfoy couldn't hex them.

However, hexing seemed to be the last thing on Malfoy's mind, for he was laughing out loud. Stunned, Harry looked at the pale Slytherin who was still down on the floor.

"You're a temperamental one aren't you, Granger." He crawled back on his feet, ignored Harry and brushed closely past Hermione, his whisper loud enough to be heard. 

"I'm going to have so much fun with you, Mudblood." He growled and ran off, too quickly for Harry to catch up with him and beat the crap out of him, his fists itching to wipe that smirk of the Slytherin's cold face.

"And now you're going to tell me what this is all about and how long it has been going on." Harry said, turning towards a shaking Hermione.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 8: Games.

"I haven't got the slightest idea of what you're talking about." Hermione said, her eyes averted.

'Oh, come on, don't give me that. I know Malfoy is up to something. He's been bugging you ever since we came back in September." Harry wouldn't let go that easy.

"It's no big deal. Just Malfoy trying to be the tough guy, but he isn't, trust me. Anyway, I want to go and lie down for a while so I won't be too tired to do the rounds tonight. You haven't forgotten it's our turn, have you ?" She started to walk towards Gryffindor Tower and Harry tagged along.

"No of course I haven't forgotten. And don't change the subject! Honestly Hermione, that sneaky Slytherin is up to no good and you better tell me about it or I'll write to Viktor and tell him Malfoy is harassing you. It wouldn't be a lie either."

"Noooo Harry, you can't! Viktor already dislikes Malfoy and God knows what he would do if you wrote that."

"Then you _will_ tell me ?"

"Fine." She took a deep breath and after the first uneasy words, the sentences came rolling fluently from her lips, as if it had been bottled up for a long time and needed to come out all at once.

"You already know the beginning of it, I told you that time when we were on our way to the first Prefects Meeting. He left me alone for a while after that, but not for long. He went very subtle about it, whispering stuff when I walked by, giving me meaningful looks … it was all rather innocent and yet it made me feel very uncomfortable. Last week he started to try to get me alone. One time he nearly succeeded and he already had his hand on my arm when Professor Snape came down the passage and sneered at me. Of course Malfoy jumped away from me instantly, but I knew he'd be back. Tonight he did. I guess this wasn't the last of our encounters, but believe me Harry, though upsetting as it might be, I'm not really afraid of him. There's not much he can do without Dumbledore or the teachers finding out, it's just a matter of intimidation."

"Yes, but what does he want ? I mean, he's always made it quite clear he doesn't want anything to do with you and now he goes to extremes to be alone with you. It doesn't make any sense." Harry looked puzzled, his face still showing concern. "There's still something you're not telling me. You _know_ why he wants to be alone with you, why he plays this game."

"Yes I do know." Again her eyes wandered anywhere but Harry's face.

"Won't you tell me ?"

"It's kind of personal, and a bit embarrassing too." 

When she still wouldn't look at him, Harry picked up her hand and gave it a little shake, trying to get her attention.

"Hermione, it's _me_ you're talking to, you can tell me anything, you know that."

Hesitation.

"Ok then. It's … well, he … he wants to use me as his love slave." As she said it, her cheeks burnt deep red and she closed her eyes, unable to look at her friend.

"Love slave ?" Harry was astonished. This was a joke, right ? In fact, if Hermione hadn't looked so utterly ashamed and if he hadn't seen the threat in Malfoy's eyes he probably would have burst out in laughter. As it was, he tried to contain his giggles and thought about it for a few moments.

"I don't know what to say. I  …"

"It seems he wants to conduct his experiments with someone from a House that is not so noble as his own precious Slytherin. I gather these experiments won't be all fun and games for the lady in question, so there you have the reason for me being singled out."

"But it's preposterous ! You should go to McGonagall with this and report it as harassment." Harry was outraged.

"That's no use, he'll only deny it."

"I bet McGonagall would make him take Veritaserum, this is a serious thing Hermione."

"It's really no big deal Harry. I think he just wants to scare me, make fun of me, I really do."

"Yeah, sure. Listen, I think you _should _tell one of the teachers and if you feel uncomfortable telling McGonagall, then go to Professor Palmer. I'm sure she'll know what to do."

"Maybe. I'll think about it. Maybe we've scared him off. Tell you what, if he bothers me again, I'll go to Professor Palmer. Ok ?"

"Ok." Finally Harry seemed satisfied. The idea of Malfoy getting his hands on Hermione created a red mist in front of his eyes. He knew the Quidditch match against Slytherin was going to be a tough one.

*

The hours until that Quidditch game seemed to fly by. Especially since they had to get Neville ready in time to play. It was a busy week for Harry and he wished it would all be over and they would be back in the Great Hall, enjoying their Halloween dinner.

When they were on the verge of coming out of the locker rooms, Harry assembled his team as any good Quidditch captain should.

"Listen, we're going to show them Slytherins something they've never seen ! With Neville as our secret weapon, they won't know what hit them !"

"Yeh! Yeah!" Fred and George cheered. Angelina, Katie and Alicia kissed Neville on the cheek and the poor boy was so flabbergasted he forgot to be afraid.

The crowd roared as they went onto the field. Harry swooshed up into the air on his Firebolt, the other team members getting in place for the start of the game.

Upon Madam Hooch's whistle, the crowd cheered and the game began.

Harry tried to shout some pointers here and there, thinking it was his job to keep an eye on everything. He also made sure he passed by Neville a few times to give him some encouragements.

Neville did very well. In the first minutes of the game, he saved two attempts by the Slytherin Chasers. Much to his amusement, Harry saw Malfoy nearly dropping off his broomstick when Neville turned out to be a natural on the field.

"Well Malfoy, cat got your tongue ? Be careful Neville doesn't kick it the way he handles those quaffles." Harry grinned when he passed by the pale Slytherin Seeker.

Malfoy hissed at him furiously, but it was all he could do. That and watch out for the Golden Snitch. Malfoy looked as intent as ever on catching it first, that way he could finally get his revenge over his nemesis.

But unfortunately for the much plagued Slytherin, Harry saw something flickering down at the Slytherins' first goalpost and he expertly dived for it, scooping it with one free hand. Malfoy had tried to follow him, but due to the superiority of both broomstick and flying skills, the crowd was already clapping and shouting at Harry's victory by the time Malfoy got there.

The Gryffindors were ecstatic with joy. After Neville's selection they had been laughed at by most students, even some Huffelpufs and now their team had won in such a memorable way, they had all the reason to celebrate.

The Halloween Feast had never been so loud and filled with joy and Dumbledore was positively beaming.

Harry noticed Ron hadn't been to the game. He came into the Great Hall when they were already there. He sat down next to Harry, ignoring Hermione.

"Congratulations on the game, I heard we won." He said monotonously.

"Thanks." Harry knew Ron still felt humiliated and depressed, but he thought he could have at least come and see the game. From experience he knew Ron could be very stubborn and he wasn't going to let sports come between them, so he tried to be friendly and divide his attention between his two friends, trying not to notice the sadness in Hermione's eyes.

Near the end of the feast, Dumbledore silenced them and made an announcement.

"As we all enjoyed ourselves so much last year, I'm very pleased to announce you that this year we will host another Yule Ball, for all our students from fourth year on."

A round of applause showed the students' appreciation.

Harry and Ron looked at each other, clearly thinking the same thing: they had to find a date!

Over the next days, things between Ron and Hermione got back to normal, though there were still more than a few awkward moments. At least they were talking again and Harry felt himself relax. He really didn't need extra stress. With Quidditch practice, Prefects duty and the OWL's coming up, his stress-levels were high enough already.

One morning at breakfast, a large grey owl swooped in and delivered a letter in Harry's plate.

He opened it quickly to see who it was from. Hermione and Ron leaned over either one of his shoulders, their mouths shaping into an 'o' form as their reading progressed.

"_Dear Harry,_

_I heard from Snuffles you were asking about your DADA professor._

_It is true she went to Hogwarts with us and we knew her very well. _

_Snuffles doesn't remember her, but that's just because she is not using her maiden name._

_I assure you there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to Jessica Palmer._

_But I want to ask you one thing: please stop inquiring after her. I cannot tell you anything more but I must insist you do not attract attention to her persona._

_I hope you forgive me for not telling you more, but don't worry, all will be revealed in time._

_Greetings,_

_Remus J. Lupin_

PS: Maybe Dumbledore hasn't said anything yet, but as from next term on, I will be teaching the Care of Magical Creatures class since Hagrid will be in France. Snuffles will of course accompany me."

"Harry, that's fantastic. About Snuffles I mean." Hermione smiled.

"Eh, yeah."

"I guess the mystery continues." Ron sighed.

"It does add up to your theory Hermione. That Professor Snape would be afraid Voldemort might hurt Professor Palmer. I think that's why Remus wants us to stop asking about her."

"Probably. But that would mean their relationship is no secret and they are being very secretive about it, don't you think ?"

"Well, it's not very like Professor Snape to go declaring his love for her to the world, is it ?"

Ginny joined in the conversation.

"True. We'll just have to be patient." Harry said a little unwillingly.

Over the following weeks, there were new Death Eater attacks on muggle houses from families that had a witch or wizard in the family. The Underground Express reported them, as well as the victory over a flock of Death Eaters right before an attack.

"Rita Skeeter sure has been busy." Harry said to Hermione when they read the article. "Too bad she couldn't find anything on Professor Palmer."

"Harry, you said you were going to give it a rest. Besides, I've been thinking. When Professor Lupin said she wasn't using her maiden name, did he mean she is married ?"

"Oh boy, Snape is doing it with a married woman, no wonder they're so secretive about it!" Ron exclaimed.

"Shut up. She might be a widow for all we know." Ginny defended her favourite Professor.

The four of them were sitting in the common room, recuperating after a very demanding DADA class. Ron still a bit beaten when his protective wards had been probed with Dark Magic by their professor, creating the same blue electric light as when Harry had been the guinea pig.

"They're really prepping us, aren't they ?" Ron sighed exhausted.

"Be grateful for it." Hermione replied softly, still not very comfortable around him.

"I think we've already learned a lot this year." Harry said. "We'll have to when you read all that bad stuff that's been going on lately."

"Yes and our brothers are right in the middle of it." Ginny began to sob.

"Don't worry, Charlie and Bill can take care of themselves." Harry soothed. "And soon Remus and Snuffles will be here at Hogwarts and they'll be safe too."

Which just left Snape and Professor Palmer, but they were safe at Hogwarts too, weren't they ?

TBC


	9. Breaking The Wards

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 9: Breaking The Wards

Harry walked his way up to Gryffindor Tower. It was way passed curfew and since the Slytherins were doing the rounds today he wanted to be inside before they passed by. He had no intention of bumping into Malfoy. Ever since he knew what Malfoy had in mind for Hermione, Harry didn't trust himself near the Slytherin. Ron had already asked why he was being so openly hostile lately, but he hadn't said anything about the real reason, thinking Hermione might be too embarrassed. It did earn him a detention with Snape when he had wriggled himself between Hermione and Malfoy so the Slytherin couldn't make use of the opportunity to touch his friend. Malfoy had feigned an ankle injury and of course Snape believed him.

He was on his way back from the owlery, where he had sent a note to Remus, assuring him he understood the message and was very much looking forward to his arrival next month.

It was a long walk through the Hogwarts passages and Harry continued on automatic pilot, which is never a good thing to do in a building that has a mind of its own.

He sensed something was wrong when he rounded a corner and instead of finding himself in the Dark Arts corridor, he was in a passage he had never seen before. On the walls there were numerous paintings, all moving. After a few seconds of hesitation he decided to proceed.

Then he heard the noises.

From behind one of the walls –he couldn't make out if it was the right side or the left, he heard muffled cries. It sounded like a female voice and she was definitely in some kind of trouble. Harry glanced to his left and back to his right, but he saw no doors, only paintings. A rather odd collection, come to think of it. On the left side there was a large still-life of a vase with sun-flowers next to a classroom-scene from long ago judging on the hair and clothing styles. On the other side he saw a young girl with a snake wrapped around her left arm, a picture of a horse grazing in a peaceful looking meadow and further on there were views of Hogwarts like the Astronomy Tower, the Lake and the Quidditch field. But no sign of a door or another passage.

He pricked up his ears and there it was again! This time another lower sound accompanied the higher pitched one. Two people ? A man and a woman ? But who or what was doing this to them ? It sounded like they were in real pain.

Harry found himself faced with a dilemma. Should he go up to Dumbledore's office and report what he had heard ? It was almost like his second year when he had been the only one to hear the basilisk. Were the sounds he was hearing now coming from snakes as well ? There surely didn't seem to be any people around.

After what seemed like an hour but must only have been a few minutes, Harry didn't hear anything anymore and decided to return to his dormitory. He comforted himself by thinking that if something bad was going on inside Hogwarts, Dumbledore would know about it and undertake action.

When he finally covered himself with his blankets and tried to get some sleep, his thoughts went in an entirely different direction. Only six more weeks before the Yule Ball. Granted, it looked like a long time, but last year's disaster had thaught him something. This year he was going to make sure he had someone to take to the Ball; someone he _wanted_ to take to the Ball.

His thoughts went automatically to Hermione. More than anyone else he wanted to go with her. He knew he shouldn't wait too long and ask her as soon as possible, remembering her reaction last year. At first he had feared Ron would like to ask her, but since the both of them were still rather cautious around each other, there wasn't much chance in Ron wanting to take Hermione to the Ball. Now he only had to beat Neville to it, because he knew he had asked her last year as well. Which meant he had no time to waste. If only he knew how he was going to do it ! It seemed rather obvious to just ask her, but when you're fifteen these things are never that easy.

At long last he decided to ask her first thing in the morning and get it over with.

A weight lifted from his mind, he drifted off and fell asleep.

A sharp pain surged through his scar and Harry bolted right up, clinging to his forehead. The pain continued to strike with a shattering intensity and he knew he couldn't stay in his bed.

A quick look at the clock told him it was passed midnight and he felt bad about waking anyone up. He went down to the common room and started pacing in front of the died out fire. The pain lessened a bit, but his scar kept throbbing alarmingly and it worried him to great extent. Usually when this kind or pain overwhelmed him, he got a vision of what Voldemort was up to but now there was no such additional information. What could this mean ?

Before he had the time to think about it he was hit with another wave of excruciating pains. Something strange was going on. By now the pain should have subsided instead of coming back full force. 

When this last wave slowly ebbed, Harry made up his mind and took off to see Dumbledore. He was walking past one of the outer walls with the typical high and narrow coloured glass windows in it when he saw a bright light flashing out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look outside the window and his mouth fell open in shock.

He pressed his nose against the cold glass to get a better view and to make sure he wasn't dreaming. The window looked out over the front lawn and instead of  familiar bright stars against the dark background he saw nothing but electric blue sparks lighting up in the night.

An alarmbell went off inside his mind, knowing all too well where he had last seen such light, only far less menacing.

Harry didn't think twice and ran off towards the Dark Arts corridor. He didn't know where Professor Palmer's rooms were located, but he guessed they were close to her classroom.

With the pain reduced to a mere nuisance he was able to concentrate a little more and reached Professor Palmer's office in no time. He stopped dead in front of the door, suddenly cursing himself for being so impulsive. What was he going to do now ? Bang on the door until she would finally hear him ? By that time Hogwarts might be swarming with Death Eaters!

Fumbling with his pyjama's he nervously looked around. He had all but decided to run to Dumbledore's office instead when he saw something very familiar. Around the corner of the Dark Arts classroom began the corridor he had walked through earlier that night.

On instinct he entered it once again, hoping against hope that this corridor might be the answer.

If only he had the Marauders Map with him! But Moody had never returned it to him.

"Professor Palmer, where are you!" Harry was startled to hear the panic in his voice when he shouted out loud what he was thinking.

Walking past the painting with the snake and the girl, Harry did the one thing he could come up with. He turned towards the snake, concentrated really hard and asked:

"Er, hello. Do- do you know by any chance where I can find Professor Palmer. It's kind of urgent."

Though he had hoped it, Harry was still astonished when the snake lifted it's head and flickered it's tongue.

"Ssssure. You're Harry Potter. It'sssss alright to tell _you_ I ssssssupose."

Then the snake uncoiled itself from the girl's arm and slithered towards the bottom of the frame. It wrapped itself around the artist's signature and much to Harry's surprise, the portrait swung open, revealing a small entrance hall.

"She lives _here_ ?" Harry whispered.

Hesitantly he entered what must be Professor Palmer's private rooms. He felt incredibly uneasy about it, and also a little giddy, but the severity of the situation weighed hard on him and he proceeded.

"P-professor Palmer ? Are you there ?" Harry called out softly, but there was no reply.

He stepped in a cosy living room, but obviously this was not the place where he would find the Professor at this time of night.

Battling with his discomfiture, he made his way to the bedroom. The door stood a little ajar and he pushed it further open without making a sound.

Again his mouth dropped when his mind had regained enough oxygen to process what his eyes were seeing.

Professor Palmer was lying in her bed without much clothes on. In fact, if he had to take a wild guess he'd say there were no clothes at all. But that wasn't the most startling part of it, oh no. What was much worse, was her arm being wrapped around another equally naked torso, which belonged to his dreaded Potions Master. Her head was resting on his shoulder with his cheek  pressed against her forehead. Her long blond hair covered most of her nude back and his chest, but it was very clear to Harry what they had been doing. All of a sudden the realisation hit him with the intensity of a rogue bludger. Tonight, when he walked through the passage, what he had heard … Harry felt his cheeks burn and swallowed painfully. Good Lord!

The absurdity of him standing in the middle of her –no, their- bedroom was creeping up on him and combined with the precarious situation outside it was incredibly difficult for him not to burst out in a fit of giggles.

He mustered up his courage and approached the bed, trying not to look at Snape. A little shake was all it took to wake up Professor Palmer.

Her eyes only widened a bit when she saw Harry standing next to her bed. She must have realised something was wrong immediately and whispered:

"Go back into the living room Harry, I'll be right there."

Harry fled the bedroom, letting out a breath he didn't know he held. He heard some muttered words and seconds later Professor Palmer emerged from the room, fully dressed.

"What's wrong Harry ?"

Harry gulped. Suddenly his throat seemed glued together. It was all a bit much for him.

"I- I … they, I mean Voldemort …" He stuttered.

"It's alright Harry, just stay calm and start at the beginning."

Harry couldn't tear his eyes away from the sleeping form on the bed, his mind stuck when this last shock had short-circuited his brains.

Professor Palmer followed his gaze and smiled benevolently.

"Don't look so appalled Harry, it's only normal for a woman to spend the night with her husband, isn't it ?" She said.

Harry's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of the water.

"Now, I need you to focus Harry. Why did you come here ?  I assume it wasn't to defend my honour, no ? By the look on your face you seem like fainting. Can I get you something ?" She talked calmly and finally her soothing voice got through to him. He locked up the information on Snape and the Dark Arts professor in the back of his mind, he'd worry about that later, and pulled himself together.

"I woke up with my scar hurting. Maybe Dumbledore told you about it ? It's supposed to be my link to Voldemort, I feel pain when he's up to something. Tonight it was very intense and wouldn't go away. Well, it did, but then it came back again and it never has done that. So I went to see Dumbledore, but on my way down there, I looked outside a window and I saw the electric blue light, the one you showed us when Dark Magic tries to break wards. It's happening now, here at Hogwarts I mean." He was breathless by the time he ended his story.

"Ok, here's what we'll do. You go to the Headmaster's office, I believe the gargoyle will let you in. I'll head off now and take a look outside. Tell me Harry, did you only see blue lights or were there red ones as well ?"

"No, only blue."

She sighed with relief. "Fine, that means they won't break them any time soon, but they _are_ doing their very best."

The portrait opened again and Harry stepped outside. When he looked back to see if the Professor was following him, he saw her going back into the bedroom, bending over the sleeping form of Professor Snape. She brushed a few strands of black hair from his face and kissed him softly on the lips. Snape stirred and turned around in his sleep.

When she came out of the portrait and closed it, she smiled at the girl. 

"I take it _you_ didn't let Harry in ?"

The girl shook her head. "Of course not, but _he_ did. I always knew those Slytherins aren't to be trusted." She said, pointing at the snake.

Professor Palmer smiled and took Harry's hand.

"Come on, we have work to do."

When Harry came back with Albus Dumbledore, Professor Palmer was observing the probing Dark Magic.

"Albus, I think the wards will hold. I do not believe it is their intention to break them at this moment. They're only assessing our strengths and weaknesses. It would be unwise to strengthen them now and let them know we are aware of their attempt."

"I see. You believe they think we are oblivious of their break-in ? Surely they must know we would notice."

"Well, if we don't counteract, they will assume we have no knowledge of it, I'm sure. They are using Confundus Charms to fool our alarm system. I'd say it worked, if not for Harry seeing the physical evidence, there's no way we would know about their break-in. This gives us the opportunity to strengthen the wards when they have gone. Their information will be false and when they come back for their final strike, they will meet much stronger wards and though we might not be able to prevent them from breaking the wards, it will buy us more time which could be vital."

"I agree. We will keep watch until they give up, make sure they don't break through tonight and tomorrow Professor Flitwick and yourself can look at the wards and make some improvements."

Harry felt like the fifth wheel and turned around to make a disappearing act.

"Oh Harry. Thanks for alarming us, I'm sure you realise the severity of this incident and what it could cause among the students if word got out." Dumbledore looked very stern.

"Of course sir, I won't tell."

"Fine. Then I suggest you go back to you dormitory and try to get some sleep. Don't worry, we have everything under control."

"Ok." Harry said and made his way back.

Right before he entered the castle, Professor Palmer caught up with him.

"Harry. Please accept my thanks as well. And don't worry about coming into my rooms. My snake wouldn't have let you in if he didn't think it was necessary."

Harry gave her a weak smile. He still felt very uncomfortable and going into her rooms was only a small part of it. As if she could read his mind she added:

"I'd be very grateful if you kept Severus' presence in my rooms a secret. I can't tell you everything yet, but know that there are certain people who would use such information to harm not only myself but mostly Severus and now you know of my attachment to him, I'm sure you'll understand it would cause me much grief to see him get hurt."

Harry nodded, struck by the love that shone in her eyes. He would be more than happy if anyone would ever feel half as much love for him one day.

Thinking his Potions Master was truly the luckiest man alive, well at least on some level, he returned to Gryffindor Tower.

He kept his promise to both Dumbledore and Professor Palmer, but he couldn't keep anything from Hermione, Ron and Ginny.

They were equally as shocked by the attempt to break the wards as the marriage of Professor Palmer to Professor Snape.

"But if she's married to Snape and Palmer is not her maiden name, why would she call herself Palmer ?" Hermione asked.

Ron and Harry shrugged their shoulders, they didn't have a clue.

From that day on, Harry observed Snape closely, but the man held his poker face in place and nothing revealed his true feelings for Professor Palmer. She too was very careful in hiding her emotions, but maybe it was because he knew, but Harry could sometimes see a hint of worry and love in her eyes when she looked at the Potions Master.

He knew she had meant the Slytherins when she said some people would be more than happy to know about her marriage to Snape. A Gryffindor married to a Slytherin was very rare and with Snape keeping something from Voldemort, they would jump at the chance to get to him through his wife.

Things surely weren't getting easier at Hogwarts. Harry was very much looking forward to the arrival of his godfather. At least Remus and Sirius knew Professor Palmer and maybe that would relieve her of some of the tension she seemed to be under lately.

As fascinating as his professor's private lives were turning out to be, Harry soon had his own worries to think about. After all, there was a certain girl he had yet to ask to the Ball …

TBC


	10. Sweet Sixteen

HARRY ¨POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 10: Sweet Sixteen

Because of all the excitement, Harry had yet to ask Hermione to be his partner for the Yule Ball. He kept finding excuses to postpone the inevitable, but by the first week of December he realised he couldn't afford to wait much longer. He mustered up his courage and went to look for her one Sunday evening. She had told them at lunch she would be spending her afternoon and most of the evening in the library, working on an assignment for Professor Flitwick, so Harry was sure he would find her there.

Much to his surprise the library was abandoned and Madam Pince told him she hadn't seen Hermione since right after dinner.

Thinking hard about where Hermione could be around this time, he decided to check with Hagrid.

The giant welcomed him warmly, but he hadn't seen Hermione either.

Walking back to the castle, Harry stopped by the Owlery in case she was visiting Hedwig. When he still couldn't find her, he walked up to the Hospital Wing, a slight worry starting to creep up on him. Madam Pomfrey said she didn't remember Hermione coming near the Infirmary all day and when Harry murmured something about asking Dumbledore she told him the Headmaster was currently away from Hogwarts.

This worried him even more and he quickly returned to the Gryffindor common room, hoping against hope she had returned there during his absence. 

Lots of Gryffindors were sitting by the fire, engaged in games of exploding snap or wizard chess, but no Hermione.

He spotted Ron and Ginny in one of the corners, immersed in the letter from their mother they had received that morning.

"Ron, Ginny, have you seen Hermione ? I can't find her anywhere." Harry asked, unable to hide the despair in his voice.

Two red heads lifted up from the parchment.

"Huh ? No, I don't think I have, not since dinner anyway." Ron said. "She's probably still locked up in the library." He added and continued reading.

"No she isn't. In fact, I've searched the entire school and it seems like she has vanished." Harry's voice broke when panic caught up with him.

Ginny looked also a bit worried. She seemed to think really hard and was a little hesitant before she spoke.

"Didn't I hear you say Malfoy has it in for her ?"

Harry nodded. He didn't like the direction this was going.

"Well, it could mean nothing, but it's Malfoy's birthday today and I overheard Crabbe and Goyle talking to each other about the 'excellent surprise' they were having in stall for his party tonight."

"Party ?" Ron raised his head again.

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't heard Malfoy bragging about his birthday party ? He's been going on about it for weeks. Apparently only the senior Slytherins are invited and it's going to be very 'grown up'."

Now Harry was really alarmed. He got on his feet and headed for the door.

"Wait a minute Harry, you're not going down to the Slytherin common room, are you ?" Ron held him by the hem of his robe.

"Yes I am. He's got her Ron, I just know it."

Ron seemed to think Harry was overreacting, but _he_ didn't know the entire story, he only knew about that time before the first Prefects meeting.

Ginny's eyes showed understanding when she joined them and encouraged Harry to go.

"Then I'll come with you." Ron decided.

Ginny wanted to come too, but Harry persuaded her to stay behind in case Hermione should come back.

Ron and Harry hurried down the stairs, not really knowing how they would be able to enter the Slytherin common room, but Harry was desperate enough to yell and scream until they  either let him in or the entire school population would be there to see who was making such a racket.

They got as far as the Main Hall, where they were intercepted by Professor Snape, who was coming out of the Great Hall together with Professor Palmer.

"Potter! Weasley! Where are you running off to ? The Gryffindor common room is the other way." He bellowed.

Harry and Ron came to an immediate halt. They relaxed slightly when they spotted Professor Palmer, but the fire in Snape's eyes made them feel very uncomfortable.

However, worry for their friend gave them the necessary courageous recklessness and Harry blurted out:

"It's Hermione, we can't find her and it's _Malfoy's _birthday." He said it to Professor Palmer and she didn't let him down.

Snape already started to say  "I can't see what …" but his wife intervened.

"I think I know why they are so worried, Severus. I told you about a certain incident, remember ?" She looked deep into his eyes and Snape seemed to recall something.

He nodded sternly and after telling Harry and Ron to stay where they were, he stalked off towards the dungeons.

Professor Palmer said she needed to get something and disappeared in the other direction.

Harry and Ron gave each other a baffled look, but Snape's authority made them rooted to the spot, not moving an inch to investigate any further.

They were rewarded for their patience when a few minutes later, both Professors returned from their respective directions.

Snape's eyes were blazing with anger.

"The three senior years are missing from the common room and the other students have no idea of their whereabouts."

Ron was about to ask how he could be so sure of that, but seeing the fury in the Professor's eyes was enough to convince him that even a Slytherin wouldn't dare lying to this imposing figure.

"Hold on a minute, I'll try to locate her." Professor Palmer said.

Harry turned towards her, almost forgetting she had been there too. Then he noticed the piece of parchment she was holding. A very familiar looking piece of parchment.

Before he was able to tell her how it worked, she tapped her wand against the parchment and muttered some unintelligible words. He was sure it was nothing like the spell he used to activate the Map. He reached out his neck and before the lines of the map were forming themselves on the parchment, he could clearly make out the words on top of it. It said:

_'Hello Jess, up to mischief again ?_

_ Mister Prongs wishes you good luck!_

_Mister Moony would like to add you're looking lovely as ever._

_Mister Padfoot agrees and blows a kiss._

_Mister Wormtail thinks his friends are behaving like idiots again, but can't say he's any different.'_

Harry's eyes grew wide when he saw the message from his father. Obviously Professor Palmer had known the Marauders really well if she knew how to activate the Map and there was even a special welcoming message for her !

A quick glance at Ron told him he was also stunned, though he was too far away to read what was on the Map.

"Ah, come over here Severus, do you know this room ?"

Snape took a look at the parchment and if he was surprised about it turning out to be a Map, he didn't show. He turned around instantly, his robes swishing behind his legs when he disappeared in the direction of the dungeons again.

"You two go back to your common room. Hermione will be there shortly, I promise."

Professor Palmer gave them an encouraging smile before she went after her husband.

"Did- did you see THAT ? She read the Marauders Map!" Ron exclaimed once she was out of hearing distance.

"Yeah, and the Map knew her too. Called her 'Jess'."

"No wonder Moony was worried about her, they must have known her pretty well to trust her with the Map."

"I guess so." Harry was still a bit overwhelmed and by the time they reached the Gryffindor common room he had turned completely silent, leaving it to Ron to tell Ginny all about Snape's anger towards his own House.

Only half an hour later Hermione turned up in the common room.

Most of the other students had retreated to their dormitories, so Harry, Ron and Ginny bombarded her with questions.

She still looked a bit shaken, but her eyes shone brightly and there were little sparks in them when she got to the part where she was rescued.

"I was sitting in the library doing my Charms essay and Madam Pince stepped out for a moment. All of a sudden, my wand was grabbed from my pockets and someone held my arms behind my back. It was Crabbe and Goyle. They gagged my so I couldn't scream and dragged me off towards the dungeons. Right before we entered an old dungeon classroom they called out 'Draco, come and get your present' and I knew I was in deep trouble. I was forced to go into the room, where they tied me to a chair. The celebrations had already started and I'm sure more than one Slytherin had had too much to drink already. The older Slyths kept throwing 'advice' at Malfoy and some of it was really disgusting. I kept hoping Dumbledore would find out about this, but then I remembered he hadn't been at dinner and I guessed he wasn't at Hogwarts. That's when I started to panic a little. My wand was lying on a table close to my chair and I had read about wandless magic during my Charms research. I knew it was possible by means of mind-control to get small objects to fly into your hands. Especially if it's your own wand, since there is a magical connection. So I tried to focus really hard and basically shut out everything else. That's why I hadn't even noticed when the room all of a sudden went silent."

She took a little moment to catch her breath and clearly enjoyed the anticipating looks on her friends' faces.

"Oh it was brilliant! Snape stood there, in the middle of the room, his eyes scanning each and every one of those present. I could have sworn some of them were trembling. Then he stepped closer to Malfoy and his sneer was like I have never heard it before. He practically bored his eyes into Malfoy's and wished him a happy birthday. But oh Gods, the way he said it! There was sweat pearling on Malfoy's brow and his fingers gripped the back of a chair as if he was about to faint. Snape didn't even look at me all this time, but I'm sure he knew where I was. He picked up one of the empty bottles, sniffed it, glanced around the room again and whispered really softly: 'One hundred points from Slytherin. Malfoy, come with me.' That's when Malfoy noticed Professor Palmer was there and his face turned a dark pink. He didn't dare look at her and when the others left the room they had to pass by my chair, but they all averted their eyes."

Ron, Harry and Ginny let out a deep sigh of relief.

"It was so cool." Hermione beamed.

"WHAT ?" Three very confused Gryffindors spread their eyes in disbelief.

"Oh it was freaky at first and I admit I was pretty scared at one point, but honestly, you should have been there. Snape taking points from his own House, sneering at Malfoy like he has never done to us …"

"He _has_ been terribly horrible to us in the past Hermione, aren't you forgetting that ?" Harry pointed out.

"Yes of course I remember, but this was so different. I was like… I don't know, like when he berates us it's like he's only doing it as a teacher, but this time it was personal and boy did it scare the hell out of those Slytherins !"

Ginny giggled and then Harry found himself almost envious of Hermione. She was right, he would have wanted to be there to hear Snape take points from his own House. A hundred ! But all the same, he was glad Hermione was back safely and there was no doubt that Malfoy would be staying far away from her from now on.

Late at night, Harry had difficulties to fall asleep. The worry about Hermione had got to him more than he thought and images of her tied to a chair in front of a drunk Malfoy kept haunting him. When he was tired of the tossing and turning he got up and went down to the common room. He wasn't really surprised to find Hermione sitting there, gazing into the died out fire.

"Can't sleep ?" He whispered.

She turned her head and smiled. "Neither can you, by the look of it."

He sat down next to her, waiting for her to talk about it. When she finally did, he let her spill it all out. It wasn't much different than she had told them before, but the joy of being rescued had pushed aside the stress of the time before. Now it was all coming back and she feared she would get nightmares if she went to sleep. They kept talking quietly for a while longer, when suddenly the portrait swung open and Professor Palmer stepped in.

"Hermione, I thought you might still be up. Harry." She nodded at Harry, appreciating his concern for his friend.

"I brought you a sleeping potion, just for tonight. You may find it easier to fall asleep tomorrow if you've had an entire day to work through things. This will help you tonight."

She handed her a goblet with a colourless liquid in it. No need to wonder where that had come from. Hermione smiled gratefully at her Professor and drank.

After the Professor had left, Hermione stood up to go to her dorm. In a split second Harry decided it was now or never.

"Er, Hermione, before you go to sleep, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a long time."

"Yes?" She turned around to face him.

Harry took a deep breath and plunged in.  "Would you like to be my date for the Yule Ball ?"

He held his breath, crossing his fingers behind his back. Hermione smiled.

"Of course I want to go with you. But, wouldn't you rather go with Cho ? I'm sure she'd like to go with you too."

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think I can do that. Every time I see her all I can think about is Cedric and I get all sad and stuff. Besides, I want to take _you_ to the Ball." He grinned.

"It's a date then." Hermione said before she disappeared out of sight.

Harry felt like he floated up to his dormitory, carried by a million butterflies. He lied awake for most of the night, but it didn't bother him this time. He was very much looking forward to the Christmas Holidays. First of all because Remus and Sirius would be arriving and secondly, even more important, he would be taking Hermione to the Yule Ball.

He finally fell asleep when the first rays of morning light were already entering the dorm, a large grin spread on his face.

TBC

A/N: next: Remus and Sirius make an appearance, and Harry finds out about The Mark.


	11. Can I Have This Dance ?

A/N: I realise I haven't updated in ages. Thanks for bearing with me and I promise to update more frequently.

This chapter is for Camilla, she knows why.

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

Chapter 11: Can I Have This Dance ?

Harry woke up with a fluttering feeling in his stomach.

He had a date for the Ball !

With HER.

He nearly floated down to the Great Hall for breakfast and when he saw the opportunity to talk to her in private, they discussed what they were going to wear.

Hermione got all excited about wearing matching dress robes and Harry let her get carried on, happy to see her eyes twinkle with laughter again. He deliberately brought up the subject time and time again, just to distract her from pondering too much over the scary incident in the Slytherin dungeons.

It seemed like the entire Hogwarts staff was aware of what had happened, and all were keeping an eye on her. Even Snape showed he cared by handing her an extra assignment. Ron cursed him for being utterly insensitive, but Harry thought it was just what she needed at the moment.

The senior Slytherins were remarkably subdued for a lengthy period of time. Draco Malfoy received a Howler from his father, stating a Mudblood wasn't worth risking the Slytherin Honour over. As a result, Draco Malfoy had stayed away from anything and everyone in the vicinity of the Gryffindors. Harry couldn't believe how wonderful this year was turning out.

Of course it was too good to be true. Nothing would ever be that easy. Not in his life anyway.

It started with a note on the message board in Gryffindor Tower, announcing dance classes in preparation for the Yule Ball. Harry saw Hermione shooting him glances and he knew there was no way out of it.

"Can you imagine anyone signing up for that ?" Ron pointed at the note. "They've got to be kidding to be even suggesting we would want to sacrifice our free time to go humping around like a bunch of idiots." 

"Well …" Harry began hesitantly.

"You weren't thinking of going now, were you ?" Ron looked at him penetrative.

There was a desperate sigh coming from behind them.

"I guess I'll have to, otherwise no-one will want to dance with me." Neville said regretfully.

"Yeah, but who says we want to dance, huh ?" Ron laughed.

"Oh, but you have to if you want your date to be happy with you." Neville squealed, quickly looking over his shoulder as if he was afraid someone would overhear him give away his strategy.

"Great tactics Neville, but we had no trouble in finding dates last year, even if we didn't dance." Ron said proudly.

"Er, I seem to be recalling a different situation and if I remember correctly, said dates vanished rather rapidly when they discovered we weren't into the dance thing." Harry intervened.

Ron seemed to contemplate his friend's answer and looked at the note again.

"I suppose it's worth a try."

So that's how Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean, along with most of the senior years found themselves standing nervously together in the Great Hall on a Saturday afternoon. The tables were shoved aside, creating a large dance floor in the middle of the Hall.

Harry remarked the absence of the Slytherins, thinking the pureblood aristocracy probably included dance classes in the basic education of their children. Only a very insecure looking Crabbe and Goyle slipped into the room near the beginning of the extra-curricular class.

Professor McGonagall took it upon herself to teach them how to dance.

She welcomed them and praised their bravery. A few snickers, mostly coming from the girls, was heard and Harry thought everyone must be feeling a little nervous.

McGonagall explained they would first learn the steps individually before they would be practising in pairs.

"Since there are more boys than girls who joined up for this class; the boys will of course take turns."

Only then did Harry notice the lack of girls in the room. On further examination, he recognised the vast amount of them as fourth year students, along with the occasional senior girl. Hermione, Ginny, Parvati and Lavender were nowhere to be seen.

Of course, they all already knew how to dance.

He didn't mind waiting his turn and was even a little relieved the girls he spent most of his time with weren't here to witness him blunder. Not to mention it was an even bigger reassurance he wouldn't be making a total fool of himself in front of his arch rival, Draco Malfoy.

Just when he started to relax, Professor McGonagall introduced Snape as the tutor for the boys. Harry felt Neville go rigid next to him and Ron let out a little "Oh no." He himself felt his resolve crumble to pieces and he knew he would need all the famous Gryffindor courage he could muster to survive this class.

As he had feared, Professor Snape showed as much patience in teaching his students how to dance than he did in potions: none.

Especially to Neville, who really had been blessed with two left feet, it was a traumatic experience. 

At long last both professors decided they were ready for the next step, dancing in pairs.

Due to the lack of girls Professor McGonagall included herself among the participants and to his horror Harry found himself dancing with her on his very first try.

"Very well Mr. Potter, you are definitely making progress." She complimented him after the music had stopped, but Harry only felt his muscles had tensed up in an extremely uncomfortable knot and he just knew he would be sore the next day.

When the class was finally over, the fifth year Gryffindors headed back to their common room, all bragging about their respective killer-moves on the dance floor. Even Neville boasted he hadn't stepped on McGonagall's feet once.

At night, before they went to bed, Ron came up to Harry in a conspiring sort of way.

"Listen Harry, I did some thinking and you were right, last year's dates weren't all that great and I thought we might stick with girls we know better this year. Maybe they won't force us into dancing if we don't want to."

"What do you mean Ron ?"

"Well, I was thinking you might ask Ginny and I could ask Hermione. Would save us a lot of trouble."

Harry's insides twisted. He knew he should have told Ron right away after he had asked Hermione, but he had wanted to do it in private and there never seemed to be an appropriate moment to do so. Well, it seemed like the moment had come at last, even if it wasn't the ideal one.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." He began, but was quickly interrupted.

"How come not possible ? They're perfect. You don't think they would refuse us, do you ?"

"No Ron, I mean it's not possible because I already asked Hermione and she accepted."

Ron had never looked so much as a fish out of the water as on that particular moment.

"You … you …wha… ? " Was they only thing to come out of his mouth.

"I asked her some time ago. I'm sorry, I meant to tell you, but it was never the right moment and …"

"And when *were * you planning on telling me ? On the day of the Ball ?!" Ron had finally got his voice back and immediately made good use of it. His shouting could be heard all the way down to the common room.

"Look Ron. I think your plan is fine, but I didn't think you were planning this. All I knew was that I needed a date and at the time you weren't all that friendly with Hermione and I thought …"

"Well you thought wrong!" Ron got up, left the dormitory, slammed the door behind him and ran down the stairs.

Harry ran after him, but Ron had already gone through the portrait hole, several surprised faces looking up at him, including Hermione's.

"What happened ?" She asked, taking him by the arm to sit in one of the plush chairs in front of the fire.

"I told him I'm taking you to the Ball." Harry said.

She spread her eyes wide. "And that was his reaction ? Honestly !" She looked annoyed.

"He'll come around once he's cooled off and had the time to get used to the idea." Harry said.

"He better be." Came her short reply. Then she rolled her eyes and bit her lip.

"That boy can be so infuriating. First he flows off the handle for me besting him at Quidditch and now he's throwing a tantrum because two of his friends are going to the Ball together. He surely needs to get that temper of his under control."

Harry flinched at the word 'friends', but realised that was what they were in the first place. Only he didn't know if he wanted it to stay that way. Actually he was quite sure he *didn't * want it to stay like that. He felt like he was ready for a new step in their relationship and the other night, when he had asked her to the Ball, he thought Hermione had felt the same way.

Now all of a sudden he wasn't so sure anymore. He understood perfectly why Ron was so upset. Harry suspected Ron was experiencing similar feelings towards Hermione and discovering she was going to the Ball with someone else should come as a big shock. Especially if the someone else happens to be your best friend.

It was all such a mess and Harry almost wished he didn't feel like he did, but if he was entirely honest with himself he had to admit he was pretty proud of himself to beat Ron to it in asking Hermione out.

The next few days were difficult to say the least. Ron avoided him and announced to everyone that 'poor Ginny' had been carelessly rejected by the friend of the family, until Ginny told him to shut the hell up.

The tension built as Yule drew nearer. During the last school day of term Hermione came up to Harry with a look of regret in her eyes. For a moment Harry feared she would call the all thing off to save their friendships, but it appeared to be something else.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. I've come to tell you before you hear it from someone else."

"What is it ?" Harry did get rather worried.

"It's Ron. He has a date for the Ball."

"Oh, but that's wonderful, isn't it ? It will get him off our backs at last." Harry felt like massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"No Harry, wait until you hear who he's asked. He's being really bratty about it."

"Who then ?" Now Harry was getting curious.

"I'm sorry Harry, but it's Cho. Ron asked Cho Chang to be his date and she accepted."

For a moment Harry was stunned, but only in surprise. Then he laughed out loud. Seeing the wonder on Hermione's face he clarified.

"As I told you before, I'm way past my crush on Cho. If Ron thinks he can get back at me like that he's sadly mistaken. I'm very happy how things worked out."

With a large grin on his face, Harry walked together with Hermione to the Great Hall for dinner.

The Great Hall was looking rather abandoned, but Harry soon realised the Christmas holidays had started and the three junior years had all gone home to their families.

He sat down next to Ron, patted him on the shoulder and congratulated him on his date.

Ron looked at him quizzically, but said nothing.

When Dumbledore came in, Harry immediately noticed the man following him. He waved at Remus Lupin and his heart filled with joy as he remembered what had been in the letter: Sirius would accompany him to Hogwarts. This meant his godfather was already on the grounds, probably in Hagrid's hut. Hagrid had left the day before, right after his last class and Dumbledore had made the announcement of the replacement teacher some time before. Therefore nobody seemed surprised to see their former Dark Arts Professor enter the Great Hall.

Harry noticed Snape was still shooting daggers in Lupin's direction, but he didn't fail to see the warm smile on the face of his current Dark Arts teacher.

He returned his attention to his meal and talked to his fellow students, including Ron.

The latter didn't participate in the conversation and when Harry asked him a question he blatantly refused to answer.

"That's it !" With a large thump Hermione landed the palm of her hand next to Ron's plate.

Ron blinked, staring at the sauce being catapulted from his plate onto his robes.

"I've had it with your childish behaviour, Ronald Weasley." Hermione stated.

The other Gryffindors all turned their heads to see what was happening and Harry would have very much liked to disappear underneath the table if possible. But Hermione would never let him escape of course. No, instead she dragged him into the spectacle.

"I don't care if you want to make a total fool of yourself by acting like a complete dork. But what I can't stand is you deliberately throwing away both of our friendships over some stupid Ball. I will say this once and I hope it gets through that thick skull of yours, because I will never repeat it. I care for you, Ronald Weasley. You are one of my best friends and I like you despite you being one of the most pigheaded people I know. Nevertheless, that doesn't stop me from feeling the same way about Harry, though he is not so stubborn." She smiled a little and took a deep breath. "I'm going to the Ball with Harry because he is my friend and because he asked me. Period. And if you would have realised you needed a date sooner and asked me first I would have gone with you. Understood ?" Ron nodded, stammered something unintelligible that sounded like an apology and blushed.

Harry felt like he had been hit by a bludger.

Hermione didn't think he was special. She would have gone with Ron to the Ball if he had asked her sooner. She didn't favour Harry at all. She didn't feel the strange sensations in her stomach when Harry was with her like he did when she was with him.

The conversation glided past him as he watched everything as if he was sleepwalking. His knife fell from his hand and his eyes fixed themselves on the wall in front of him. He faintly heard a female voice ask him if he was alright. He felt himself nod but couldn't utter one word. Someone said: "I think he's going to be sick." Harry turned his head and met a couple of concerned looking faces, Ron's included. He snapped out of his trance, still feeling thoroughly dead inside.

"I'm fine." He managed to say.

"Good. For a moment I thought you had one of your nightmares at broad daylight." Ron said.

"No."

"Hey, I'm sorry about being such a jerk. But now Hermione's cleared up everything I'm back to my normal self again." Ron said.

"Which is being a total jerk." Fred interrupted.

"Besides, I was mostly concerned about Ginny, you know. She really does fancy you and I wouldn't want to see her get hurt." Ron ignored his brother.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I think Ginny has found herself another love out of reach to pine for." Hermione pointed at a staring Ginny, eyes fixed on the Head Table, following every move a certain new Care for Magical Creatures teacher was making.

"Oh no." Ron groaned. "She really improved herself did she ? I wonder what a werewolf would be like as a brother in law." He snickered.

Harry tried to smile, knowing it was required, but his mind was still occupied by what Hermione had said to Ron. They were just friends. Nothing more.

He was certain he felt more than friendship, but how was he to know for sure ? Hermione didn't seem to be feeling anything more and maybe he was just getting carried away ? Was there anyone he could go and ask ? Could he talk to Dumbledore about this ? No. McGonagall ? Certainly not. The only one he could ever want to bare his soul to was … Wait a minute. He was here. He could just go over to Hagrid's hut and tell him all about his sorrows.

Harry got up abruptly, causing his friends to look up.

"I'm going over to see Snuffles." He whispered to them, before he took off.

He went to Gryffindor Tower first to pick up his invisibility cloak. He assumed his visit might take some time and though Remus Lupin was on the staff, he wasn't officially a teacher yet until after the start of term so he wouldn't be able to give him permission to wander about the grounds after curfew.

As he neared the hut he didn't see any lights on. His godfather was probably out for a while, maybe hiding in the kitchens to get something to eat. Cursing his impatience he sat himself down on the grass.

After a while he felt sore and he decided he could do without his butt freezing off, so he stood up and gave a little tug at the door. To his surprise it opened without resistance. A bit hesitant he shuffled inside. He saw most of Hagrid's possessions had been removed and replaced by things he recognized from Professor Lupin's former office. He found himself a comfortable spot on a couch and began his wait, his cloak covering him from head to toe.

He must have dozed off for a while, because when he opened his eyes he noticed he was no longer alone.

Inside the cabin stood Remus Lupin and Professor Palmer. They must have just come in because she was only undoing her cloak. He thought the sound of the door closing must have been what woke him up.

He was now faced with a dilemma. Should he reveal his presence to his two professors or stay hidden until he was alone with Sirius ? How would they react if they found him here, inside the cabin without anyone letting him in ? He knew Sirius wouldn't mind, but he wasn't here. He decided to wait until Sirius would arrive. Maybe Professor Palmer would leave and Harry did prefer her to be out of the way when he revealed himself.

Lupin and Professor Palmer seemed to be talking about how she was doing and how 'he' was doing. Harry assumed they were talking about Snape, judging by the softened expression on Palmer's face.

Then the door went open again and a large black dog entered. Once the door was shut, Sirius transformed and Harry wanted to throw his cloak off and run over to his godfather to hug him. He was about to do just that when Professor Palmer beat him to it.

"Sirius !" She exclaimed and threw herself into his arms.

He embraced her tightly and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Oh Jess, I've been so worried about you." He said in a hoarse voice.

They looked at each other with tears in their eyes and Harry watched with open mouth.

"How are you ?" Sirius couldn't stop looking the young woman over, gently caressing her as to assure himself she was real.

"I'm fine Sirius, just fine."

"Is he treating you alright ?" He asked.

She laughed. "Of course, you know Severus would never let anything happen to me."

A snort from Sirius and a raised eyebrow from Professor Palmer in response told Harry that his Potions Professor was a difficult subject between them.

"So you're teaching at Hogwarts now." Sirius stated the obvious. "Very wise of Dumbledore to bring you under Hogwarts' protection. I take it *he * wasn't too happy about it ?"

She smiled. "No, Severus still thinks I'll be safer at Snape Manor."

"And what do you think ?"

"I have been safe there these past years, but I also want to be near my husband, so when Dumbledore suggested it I agreed immediately."

"Harry has been asking about you."

She smiled again. "He's such a clever young man. James would have been so proud of him." Her eyes were getting moist and Sirius patted her shoulder.

Lupin joined in the conversation.

"I think he has stopped snooping around, but the enthusiasm of Ms Granger is also something to consider."

"Ah yes, I do thank you for that letter Remus. Harry already found out about my marriage to Severus, imagine …"

"Why haven't you told him ?" Sirius intervened.

"Dumbledore thinks it's better this way. He already has a lot to bear and with his OWLs coming up I didn't want to add pressure on him."

"But surely he'll want to know ? I know I would." Sirius insisted.

"I know Sirius, and believe me there have been times when I could hardly contain myself. It's hard on me as well you know."

"Of course." They embraced again and Harry got more curious by the second. Obviously there was something about his professor that had to be kept a secret, a secret which involved him as well.

"I do want to tell Harry though, I don't think I can keep it from him for much longer." Professor Palmer said eventually.

"When are you going to tell him ?" Sirius asked.

"How about right now ?"

Harry stood up and threw his cloak from him, enjoying the sight of three stunned adults who were momentarily rendered speechless.

"I'm sorry I've listened in on your conversation, I really didn't mean to. I wanted to talk to Sirius and since he wasn't here I let myself in and waited. I fell asleep on the couch and only woke up when you guys were already here." He looked at their faces to check if they were angry, but the only emotions he could read were surprise, joy and a little fear too.

Professor Palmer was the first to compose herself, which was no surprise living with Snape all those years. She stepped towards him, took his hands in hers and motioned him to sit down again.

"Harry, believe me when I say I wish you could have known this a lot sooner, but there was no other way. Sit down, I'm going to tell you everything."

TBC

A/N: I know this is a cliffhanger, but I won't keep you waiting long, otherwise the chapter would have been too long and besides, I like torturing you guys a little ;-)


	12. The Mark

A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing ! Don't worry, the story *will* get finished and I *will* be updating on a regular basis. I might not always be able to give you weekly updates, but I'll certainly try.  
  
  
HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 12: The Mark

Harry sank down on the couch and was vaguely aware of Remus and Sirius leaving, the latter changing back into dog form.

He noticed Professor Palmer was incredibly nervous. She kept wringing her hands and her cheeks had attained an unnatural but quite becoming pink blush. She bit her lip, brushed her hair behind her ears and glanced at him from under her eyelashes.

"I guess I should just jump in." She started. "You see, my name isn't Palmer."

"I know." Harry said.

"Yes, of course, Remus told you as much. What he didn't tell you was the reason for this deception, nor what my real name is."

She stood up again and began pacing around the room, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as if she was expecting some kind of divine intervention.

"It's Potter. My name is Jessica Potter. James was my brother."

She looked expectantly at Harry as if she was bracing herself for his reaction, but all Harry could manage was a baffled "Oh". Thoughts spun around inside his head, not quite capable of processing the impact of what his professor, no, aunt had just told him. He realised she needed some kind of feedback from him and indeed, there were many things he wanted to ask and say, but the only thing that came out was a heartfelt: "Why didn't Dumbledore take me to you ?"

He saw the surprise on her face. Of all the things he could have said, and this had been the first thing on his mind. If he did have family after all, then why the hell did he have to spend a miserable childhood in the care of the Dursleys ? Even if it meant he had to grow up with Snape, it would still have been preferable.

Jessica Potter sat down again, taking his hands in hers.

"It's not that we wouldn't want you with us Harry, please believe that. It's just that there were things preventing us to raise you, so Dumbledore chose the Dursleys instead."

"What things ?" Harry asked, knowing there had to be more surprises coming.

She shifted uncomfortably. For a moment she seemed lost in thought, probably thinking of the best way to go about this.

"Harry, have you ever heard of the Mark of Gryffindor ?"

He shook his head. No, he didn't know of any Mark. He did of course know the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, but he guessed this Mark would be something entirely different. He waited for her to tell him all about it and was slightly startled when she raised her left arm and held her wrist before him. She removed her bracelet and Harry let out a gasp. The creamy white skin was blemished with a large birthmark in the shape of a lion. The Gryffindor lion.

"That's the Mark ?" He asked her.

"Yes. I believe you have one too, only not so big."

Harry frowned, thinking he had never seen a birthmark in the shape of a lion on his body. Then again, there were certain parts he hadn't exactly been able to see for himself. She must have picked up on his confusion, because she leaned towards him, bent his head forward and pulled his left ear slightly down.

"Here it is. James had his at the exact same place. Behind his left ear." She smiled.

"Does … does this mean Godric Gryffindor is one of my ancestors ?" Harry asked in awe.

"Yes. We Potters descent from Gryffindor. Actually, if you were to trace our lineage back to his time, you would find we originated from a liaison between Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Waw." Harry was duly impressed. But what had that got to do with his aunt not being able to take him in after his parents died ? Again she was one step ahead of him.

"The Mark and what it represents is fairly well known in the wizarding world. I bet your friend Ron Weasley and even Hermione Granger could tell you all there is to know about it, except for the names of the current bearers, because they are kept a secret. For safety reasons. You see, every descendant of Gryffindor bears the Mark. Usually it is only a means of identification and relatively small in size, however once in a while a larger Mark appears. It is always a female who bears this large Mark and it is an indication she will give birth to a very powerful wizard. Only one child will be born from her. This only happens about once in two or three hundred years."

"Your child will be that wizard ? How powerful ? As powerful as Dumbledore ?"

"About ten times as powerful I should think." She smiled at his shock.

"Then … then …"

"Then you can understand why this information would be interesting to a Dark Wizard like Voldemort."

"Is that why he killed my parents ? I don't understand."

"Maybe things will get clear for you if I say that the Potter family is the last remaining link to Gryffindor. This means the lineage could only continue through myself or James and you of course. Did you never wonder why Voldemort himself went to Godrics Hollow to perform the Avada Kedavra when he usually leaves his dirty work to his minions ? He personally wanted to see to it that the lineage was terminated and prevent any powerful wizard from being born. In order to do so he had to eliminate whoever was bearing the Mark."

"Especially you."

"Right."

"But … if the names of the ones bearing the Mark are kept secret, how come Voldemort knew who to kill ?" Harry suddenly realised this.

His new found aunt sighed deeply.

"I'm afraid that's not a happy story, but I suppose it has to be told. I'll start at the beginning, it will be easier for you to understand if I tell you my story chronologically."

Harry nodded and sat up straight, getting more curious by the minute.

"James was one year older than me and so naturally I was around him and his friends often while we were at Hogwarts. They were a lively bunch, those Marauders. Lily and I usually tried to escape them and studied in the Library, a place they wouldn't have been seen dead." A soft smile played around her lips and Harry knew she was lost in thoughts.

"That's where I got to know Severus. He was there even more than we were and on occasion he would clarify something for me, especially when it considered Potions or Dark Arts. I knew James didn't like him much, but the hostilities weren't going anything further than the usual House-rivalry at that point. Anyway, some time during my third year I discovered Remus was a werewolf. I had always liked Remus very much, he was a bit more sensible than Sirius and James, and so I wanted to know everything there was to know about his condition and a possible cure. This lead me into the Restricted Section of the library, where once again Severus kept me company. We often got into discussions and after many months of following his lead I finally managed to stun him with my knowledge. I guess the basis for our relationship formed there. By the time I got to fourth year, James spoke to me about my tendency to involve myself in the Dark Arts. I didn't want him to know it was because of Remus, but James jumped to a conclusion of his own and his aversion towards Severus grew."

There she paused for a while and Harry was beginning to guess where the story would lead to. She swallowed and looked a bit apologetic at him.

"I'm afraid it's going downhill from now on, Harry."

Harry nodded in understanding and gave her a weak smile. He needed to hear it. All of it.

"When I was a third year James made Sirius ask me to go with him to the Yule Ball, that way I wouldn't feel left out. I honestly think there wasn't one girl in the entire school who wasn't jealous of me. Sirius was quite the handsome young man at the time. As a result, I went with Sirius again in fourth year. But as I grew older, I spent more and more time with Severus and as much as I enjoyed being with Sirius and being envied by most, my feelings for Severus were developing and I wanted to go with him. I had never seen Severus at the Yule Ball and I knew he would never ask me, so after a few long talks with Lily I decided to ask him myself."

Harry noticed the sad, melancholic expression on her face and knew there wasn't a happy end coming.

"At first Lily thought it might be unwise of me to go with Severus, with all those rumours about him being too much into the Dark Arts, but I knew Severus quite well and I knew some things about him nobody else knew, except for Dumbledore, so I didn't let anyone change my mind. Severus was hesitant, but as I had turned sixteen shortly before I asked him, there wasn't really anything anyone could do to prevent me from going with him. Of course James flew off the handle once he heard about it. He dragged Sirius into the argument, convincing him Severus was bad for me and ever since that day the mutual hostility turned into blatant hate."

"Did you go with him ?" Harry was hooked to the story. Though he already suspected the outcome of it, he still wanted to hear it from her, knowing there was a dramatic turn of events lurking around the corner.

"Yes I did. One week later Sirius sent Severus after Remus. I think you know the result of that." She looked extremely sad and Harry swallowed painfully, realising Sirius had indeed tricked his Potions Master on purpose.

"Afterwards James cooled down a bit, also due to Lily's threats, but the damage had been done. Severus kept away from me. He felt totally betrayed by me. After all, he had his suspicions about Remus though he didn't know what exactly was wrong with him. He had asked me on several occasions and I always assured him I didn't know. He was right in assuming my interest in Dark Arts was due to Remus and so he concluded I had lied to him while he had told me his secrets. I felt terrible and desperately tried to make amends. Lily was the only one I confided in and she was the one who eventually brought us back together. My relationship with James was at his worst in the summer after my sixth year, when Severus left school and we kept in touch by owl. It was truly sad, even more so because before things got out of hand with Severus, James and I were really close."

"What happened next ?"

"I started my last year at Hogwarts and didn't get to see either Severus nor James, though I did corresponded with Severus. Both my parents died that year, at the hands of Voldemort, and at the funeral James accused Severus of being a Death Eater. Of course I knew Severus was one."

"You knew ?" Harry's eyes grew wide.

"Yes. He was a spy."

Harry gasped.

"I thought Dumbledore had told you as much ?" She asked when she saw his astonishment.

"Yes, but I didn't know he became a spy so soon." Harry said.

"Oh yes. In fact, Severus never has been a true Death Eater. He joined them with the intention of being a spy. That was his big secret. The one only a few people knew about."

"Oh."

"So you see it was very difficult for me to hear Severus get slandered that way, knowing what sacrifices he made day by day. Anyway, I stayed away from James until the wedding. Lily explicitly invited me and it actually was a very joyful day. James temporarily forgot our differences and I was only too happy to have my brother back, so I played along. When you were born they asked me to be your godmother and I gladly accepted."

Harry gave her a radiant smile. Now he had two godparents instead of being a lonely orphan. But he couldn't let his joy lead him astray for now, his godmother had yet to continue her story.

"I was a frequent guest at Godrics Hollow and though I never grew as close to James as before, we managed to be in the same room without raising our voices. Only, things couldn't stay that way. Very soon after you were born, Severus proposed to me. First I only told Lily and she was truly delighted. Together we worked out a strategy to tell James, but no matter how gently we broke the news to him, he was bound to get upset about it."

"He didn't take it well ?" Harry's heart went out to his godmother when he saw tears well up in those beautiful eyes.

"You could say that. Lily and I chose to tell him in a public place, thinking he would remain calm there. We were enjoying a meal in The Leaky Cauldron when I showed him my engagement ring. James turned extremely pale, stood up from his chair, motioned at Lily to do the same and said icily 'You are no longer my sister', thereby casting me out of the family."

Harry put his hand in front of his mouth to stifle his cry.

"Lily tried to reason with him, but it was no use. I pleaded and pleaded and I almost betrayed Severus' secret, but even then I knew nothing could have changed James' mind. At one point I was so lost I put my hand on his arm, trying to hold onto the brother I was loosing. That's when he slapped my hand away from him, sending my bracelet across the room, my Mark uncovered for anyone to see."

Harry closed his eyes, trying to contain the tears he felt stinging. His godmother let her own tears run freely.

"How I wished I had told him in private, but it could not be undone. Before I was able to flee to Snape Mansion some Death Eaters captured me and brought me before Voldemort. Ironically Severus had been given the assignment to guard me. He blew his cover by rescuing me and to this day Voldemort still doesn't know where I am."

Something dawned at the back of Harry's mind.

"When Voldemort said Snape had stolen something from him … he meant YOU !" He exclaimed.

"It would be just like Voldemort to talk about me as if I were one of his possessions, yes, I think you are correct Harry."

"But why does he think you are his ?"

She smiled wryly. "That's easy enough. Because he believes I will bear him the most powerful Dark Wizard, that's why."

"Oh my God." 

Harry now fully realised why Snape had wanted to shield his wife from the outside world. He understood why the Snapes couldn't have taken him in, he would have drawn too much attention to them. But most of all, he understood now why Snape hated his father so much. It had nothing to do with the Shrieking Shack incident. Hell, he would even hate his father for doing such a thing. As it was, he was very confused about all of it. He always thought of James Potter as the friendly, courageous Gryffindor who wouldn't hurt a fly and now it seemed he had to adjust this image a little. Again his godmother interrupted his thoughts.

"Harry, you mustn't blame James. I have long ago forgiven him. He suffered as well you know. By exposing my Mark he signed his own death sentence, along with your mother's. As far as I'm concerned he paid his debt, more than he had to in my honest opinion."

"I don't know if I would have been able to forgive." Harry said slowly.

"Oh Harry. I really loved James and I know that deep down he loved me too. But we cannot always control ourselves and sometimes our emotions get the better of us. In case of James it was merely a bad judgement that led to a catastrophe, but he didn't do it on purpose."

"He could have trusted Snape." Harry retorted.

"That would have prevented a lot of grief, indeed. But it's not that simple. And I'm not entirely without fault either. I could have told James about Severus' role in the fight against Voldemort, but I listened to Severus and remained silent, against my better judgement."

"It still is very disappointing to hear this." Harry sighed.

"I know." 

She held out her arms and Harry snuggled into her warm embrace, for the first time feeling loved by a member of his family, not really sure who was comforting who exactly.

When they had sat like that for a few minutes Sirius and Remus got back. Harry still had a lot of questions, but for tonight he had heard enough to keep his mind by until Easter at least. Jessica said goodbye to Remus and Sirius, giving Harry some time to spend with his godfather. She also gave him a note with permission to be out after curfew, 'In case you should run into your uncle Severus' She winked.

Harry immediately felt a bit queasy, but then Sirius hugged him and he felt much better.

"Will you be alright ?" Sirius asked concerned.

"I think so. It's a sad story."

"Yes it is. I'm afraid nobody came out unscathed and we were all at least partly to blame. But what's done is done and now we have to gather our strengths and be happy with what we have got." Sirius said.

"You know Sirius, you are absolutely right." Harry gave him another hug.

"Now Harry, you said earlier you came to talk to me. What did you want to talk about ?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, nothing that can't wait. I just want to spend some time with you right now, I don't think I'd be able to sleep if I went back to Gryffindor Tower.

Harry reckoned he now had heavier stuff on his mind than his confusing feelings for Hermione. He would first try to work through the things he learned this evening and sort the other ones out when they presented themselves.

TBC


	13. Yule

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 13: Yule

Harry didn't remember how he made it back to Gryffindor Tower that night, his thoughts revolving around the upsetting story he had heard from his godmother. Conflicting emotions were weaving a complicated web inside his head, making him stay up all night curled up in a ball in one of the plush chairs in the common room. That's where Hermione found him the following morning.

"Goodness Harry, have you been down here the entire night ? You must be freezing."

She held her hand to his forehead and Harry involuntary backed away, causing her to frown.

"What's wrong ?"

"Nothing." Harry didn't feel like talking. The minute he opened his eyes and saw Hermione standing there, the mixed emotions of the previous night came running back to him.

"How was Snuffles ? Did you get to see him ?" she asked.

"Er, yeah. He was fine."

Hermione gave him an odd look, but seemed to accept his lack of speech as a result of a sleepless night.

"I suppose you didn't get back until very late then ?"

Harry grinned sheepishly and Hermione shrugged her shoulders before she exited the common room. He immediately sprinted up towards his dorm, took a quick shower and got himself ready for breakfast.

The day seemed to go by at a pace which would even make a slug look like a record breaker in the 60 meter sprint. Needless to say Harry had plenty of time to ponder over his troubles. At the end of the day, what remained was a heavy weight in his stomach combined with a clenching throat every time he thought about the actions of his father. He had noticed the worried looks on his friends' faces, but didn't feel up to telling them about it. Not that he liked keeping secrets from them, but he just couldn't admit his wonderful, picture perfect father had been far from what they were made to believe. No matter what excuse his godmother had brought up to defend the actions of his father, the simple truth remained that his prejudice and lack of trust in his sister had led to the destruction of his family. Had deprived Harry of a normal family life.

"Harry, can I speak to you for a moment ?" Professor Palmer halted the Gryffindors on their way back to the common room.

He followed her to her office wordlessly, feeling ashamed in his father's place. She motioned him to sit down and conjured two mugs of hot chocolate with a lot of whipped cream on top. They drank in silence and after he had wiped his mouth clean, Harry gave her a shy smile, his eyes glowing.

"Thank you."

"I thought you might need this. And it's also very tasty." She smiled back, twinkling.

"So, how was your day ? I noticed you weren't your attentive self in my class. Not that I blame you, but if you feel troubled about what I told you yesterday it's best that you talk to one of us instead of bottling it all up inside."

Harry stared at his hands. He knew he could always talk to Sirius and his godmother, maybe even to Dumbledore and Lupin, but he honestly didn't think talking was going to drive away his shame and anger. Especially the anger seemed to be gaining importance now the first shock had settled down.

His emotions were probably written all over his face, for his godmother leaned in and ruffled through his hair.

"Oh Harry, you will get through this, trust me. I guess it isn't easy for any of us to find out that those we look up to are less than the perfect icons we turn them into. Let me put it this way: do you think yourself as flawless ?" Upon seeing his startled look she continued. "A lot of people think you are. You are the hero of the wizarding world. You couldn't do anything wrong. You are the perfect Golden Boy to them. Is that who you really are ?"

Harry shook his head, understanding what his godmother was trying to tell him, but his heart had been gravely wounded and he would need more time to come to terms with it.

"I know it's hard. But it's hardly the end of the world. You know Dumbledore always says things happen for a reason and I think he's right. We are not as free in our decisions and actions as you might think, Harry. The way we are brought up, educated and the things we experience brandish us and guide us in a subconscious way. Because we were raised as Gryffindors, our natural disposition was to distrust the Slytherins. You cannot blame James for that. You also must understand your father was caught in the middle of a dirty war. At a very young age he was confronted with the outrageous monstrosities the Dark Lord's followers engaged in. It's no wonder he felt nothing but resentment towards Severus. If only I had realised this sooner I might have been able to prevent certain things from happening, but even that's not sure. You see it took me a very long time to forgive both James and Sirius for what happened to Severus and Remus, and it took me even longer to forgive Sirius for betraying your parents, but in the end I did. After that, my life became a lot easier and though some part of me will never find complete happiness, I find that I can be happy for what I have right now and I truly hope you too will find your way out of the darkness you find yourself in at the moment."

Harry looked up to her and saw how she believed in what she was saying. Still, he would need more time, but she had given him something else to think about. She had given him hope.

*

The following day, after a surprisingly good night's sleep, Harry's world seemed to brighten up a bit. It was Christmas Eve and he was looking forward to spending this festive day with both his godparents. He knew he really should be letting his friends in on his secret, but he sort of wanted to keep his new found family to himself for a while. Sirius had asked him by means of Lupin if he would care to join them in the hut for dinner. It was difficult to explain to Ron and Hermione why he wanted to go there on his own, but to his astonishment they both considered it natural for him to want to spend time alone with his godfather.

When he arrived at the hut, his next surprise was seeing Snape there as well. Of course he wouldn't want to celebrate Christmas without his wife now she was at Hogwarts, but still it looked very strange to see him sitting there so peaceful, only two chairs away from Sirius.

The meal went by in a flash and again Harry was amazed at how few incidents there had been between his godfather and his Potions Master. And if there was a potentially dangerous situation developing, either Lupin or his godmother steered the conversation in another direction. He even found himself participating in this game and came to the conclusion he rather liked it, in a twisted sort of way.

After exchanging the gifts (his very first from his godmother, being a large photo-album), Snape stood up and left them to do his rounds. Even on this day he would not give up on his favourite pass-time. Jessica Potter sent her husband a radiant smile, Lupin nodded curtly, Sirius grunted something unintelligible and Harry managed a faint "Bye".

The party relaxed noticeably after that and very soon the hut was filled with laughter. It seemed Lupin and Jessica had a vivid memory of all the stunts the Marauders used to pull off and when he heard them from the mouths of his friends, Sirius remembered them as well.

At long last both professors present urged him to return to his dormitory. Harry left reluctantly but felt happier than he had been for days now.

The next morning he exchanged presents with Ron, Hermione and Ginny and his mood got even better. The worries about his fucked up family were carefully locked in the back of his head where they wouldn't cause much trouble but could always serve as a reminder for times when his judgements were in danger of becoming too black and white.

The holidays moved along quickly and before they knew it, the big day of the Yule Ball had arrived. With that came also the return of Harry's mixed up feelings towards Hermione. In the hours leading up to the feast, he found himself wandering in front of the portrait with the girl and the snake, being the entrance to his godmother's quarters.

"Well, havvvve you deccccccided if you're going to come in or not ?" The snake peeked it's head up.

"Uh."

"Oh for Merlin's sake, do get a move on!" The girl said fervently, reminding him of Hermione.

The portrait swung open, revealing his godmother at the other end.

"Do you need help with your dress-robes ?" She winked and made room for him to step into the room.

"Are, em … are you alone ?" His eyes scanned the room, frantically looking for signs of a certain Potions Master.

A soft chuckle made him stop and turn. "Don't worry, Severus is currently stalking the dungeons to urge his Slytherins to get ready on time."

Harry relaxed seemingly and slumped down onto a chair.

"What brings you here ?"

"Well … I … ehm. Can I ask you a question ?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"How can you tell the difference between friendship and love ?" Harry looked desperate and Jessica Potter had difficulties to keep her giggles inside. Of course Harry was a teenager and he would be having these confusing hormonical outbursts, but she never really expected him to come to her with it.

"I take it you're talking about yourself and Miss Granger ?" Seeing the deep blush on his face she concluded she had hit the jackpot. "Tell me about her, how you feel."

"We've always been friends. Well, not right from the beginning but still … Anyway, I never really thought about Hermione like that. I even had a crush on another girl last year. But I don't know what has changed and when it did. Maybe it was when she looked so drop-dead gorgeous last year at Yule or maybe it was the kiss she gave me right before I went back to the Dursleys, I don't know. All I do know is that every time I see her my heart races, my hands feel sweaty and my head spins."

"That bad, huh." She smiled compassionate at him and he smiled back, glad she didn't make fun of him.

"So I asked her to the Ball."

"Good move. Now what's the problem ?"

"Ron didn't take it all too well and Hermione told him we were going together because we were friends, nothing more." Harry's despair was increasing.

"Ah, I see. And now you want to know from me whether she really really meant it, or whether she was just trying to soothe your other friend."

Harry nodded fiercely and was startled by her laughter.

"I'm sorry Harry, but if I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't be teaching here, I would be making a fortune as a clairvoyant. But I tell you what. If you want to be certain about her feelings, you should just ask her. You are very good friends already and if these things can't be talked about between friends, well then what's the friendship worth ? But do be sure you ask her when you are alone, this is private."

"But what if she makes fun of me ?"

"Oh really Harry, you don't think a smart and sensitive girl like Hermione would do that ? True, she might giggle a bit, but that's just nerves. I'm sure she'll be really gentle with you and who knows, you might be in for a surprise."

"So you think I might stand a chance ?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up, but I don't see why not. You are a very nice boy Harry and I can imagine there's tons of girls who'd want to go out with you."

"You mean they'd want to go out with Harry Potter."

"Ah. Is that why you asked Hermione to the Ball ?"

"No !  Er, well it might have something to do with it, but not entirely."

"Listen Harry, before you go to speak to Hermione, you must be sure of your own feelings. As I said, you are good friends now and it would be a bad idea to jeopardise this friendship."

"No no, I wouldn't !"

"I'm not saying you'd do it deliberately, but consider this: you are very young and right now you want to have a good time and you want someone you know who won't be interested in the 'image' of you. This leads you automatically to one of your friends, but what if this is just a little crush and nothing more ? Will your friendship come out unscathed at the end ? Nothing guarantees that !"

"So you're saying I shouldn't tell Hermione ?"

"No, I'm not telling you anything of the kind. I just want you to think twice before you say or do anything rash."

Harry looked utterly confused and Jessica got pity on him.

"Don't worry too much. These things have a tendency to sort themselves out, you'll see."

"So you *do * think Hermione only said that because she wanted to keep Ron in line !" Harry exclaimed.

"Well, let's put it this way: if I were in her shoes, that's what I would do."

With that Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower, still somewhat confused but determined to do something about it very soon.

*

The Great Hall was once again bathing in the light of thousands of candles. The Christmas trees were dominating the corners of the Hall, overseeing the festively decorated tables. Since quite a lot of students had inter-house dates, the tables weren't reserved for one House only. Harry entered with Hermione, clinging to the arm she had tucked under his.

"Don't worry, I won't fly away." She loosened his grip a bit and Harry's face grimaced, but he returned to smiling when he spotted his friends. Ron was there with Cho as expected and Neville had brought Ginny. He was overly courteous and both the other couples had to keep their eyes averted not to laugh. It was very sweet though, but when Ron and Harry walked across the room together to fetch the drinks, Ron whispered: "The girls won't expect us to carry on like * that * now, would they ?"

Harry smirked. "Oh yes Ron, they would.

Ron wrinkled his nose. "Well they can expect whatever they like, but it doesn't mean I have to make a complete idiot of myself."

They came back laughing and it set the tone for that evening.

When their tummies had been filled with Hogwarts' delicious food, Dumbledore opened the dance with Professor McGonagall. 

Soon other couples were allowed on the floor and Harry, who knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it all evening decided to just go ahead with it and asked Hermione to dance.

All things considered it went better than he had feared. It appeared the extra dance classes had paid off and even Neville was acting more relaxed than usual.

It was shortly before midnight when it happened.

All of a sudden, Malfoy stood up and headed for the Head Table, where he curtsied in front of Professor Palmer and asked her to dance.

The Hall fell silent except for the music and all gazes were fixed on the Slytherin prefect dancing with one of his professors.

Harry quickly glanced at Professor Snape and immediately wished he hadn't. Never had he seen such a look of contempt and intense hate on the Potions Master's face. If anyone were to look at him right now there was no way his secret marriage would remain a secret for long. Hermione followed his gaze, mumbled something and got up.

Before Harry had time to register what she had said he saw her go up to Snape and talk to him. He held his breath, along with anyone who had followed where Hermione was going. Then, Snape stood up, took Hermione's hand gracefully in his and led her towards the dance floor. Ron let out a loud groan.

"Oh dear, has she gone stark raving mad ?"

But Harry suspected he knew what she was doing. When she manoeuvred Snape and herself in the vicinity of Malfoy and Professor Palmer, Harry was certain. Then a thought hit him. When the music stopped, both couples would be next to each other and it would be only normal if Professor Snape took over from Malfoy, which was what Hermione had anticipated. But it would also mean that Hermione would be forced to dance with Malfoy.

In a split second Harry jumped up from his chair and rushed towards the Head Table. He bowed in front of Professor McGonagall and sighed relieved when she accepted.

"Really Potter, I must complement you on your dancing skills. Nobody would believe you had only just learned."

"Uh, thank you." Harry managed to mumble, his feet struggling to stay in the rhythm, use the right steps *and * steer them in the direction of the other two mixed student/teacher couples.

"Oh, I see you are guiding us to Severus and Jessica. Please Potter, don't make me dance with Severus, I'm not up for his usual sarcasm."

"Actually that wasn't what I was thinking, Professor." Harry said.

He could see McGonagall didn't know what he was aiming at, but when he looked over Malfoy's shoulder at his godmother, he saw she understood why he was there.

It all happened really fast. When the music stopped, Harry's eyes locked with Snape's and it was as if they communicated telepathically. Snape scooped his wife away from Malfoy and Harry hurried over to Hermione, leaving McGonagall in front of a dazed Malfoy.

"Well, mister Malfoy, it seems the Gryffindor/Slytherin exchange will continue a little longer. I must say I'm impressed with your manners. It is very worthy of a prefect to ask his professors to dance."

Harry steered Hermione away from the couples and both their heads went to Snape and Palmer aka Potter. Hermione got a dreamy look in her eyes and she murmured: "They're really made for each other, aren't they ?"

Harry could only agree with her. The way his aunt and uncle twirled around the dance floor was nothing but magical. A radiant glow surrounded them and Harry wondered how anyone could not notice the special bond between them. As they passed the Head Table, Harry saw a melancholic smile on Lupin's face and Dumbledore was beaming at his dancing professors.

When they got back Harry felt exhausted. Not only was dancing turning out to be quite an effort, but the additional stress caused by Malfoy had him drained to the bone. Hermione didn't look any better and when he suggested they'd step outside for a while she followed him gladly. Harry shot a quick look over his shoulder and saw Cho dragging Ron with her for another round on the dance floor. Behind her goblet, his godmother sent him an encouraging smile and his heart fluttered in anticipation.

Dumbledore had enchanted the grounds around Hogwarts to feel and look like a Mediterranean garden in the midst of summer. Crickets were chirping, moonlight was shining and the heavy scent of honeysuckle invaded Harry's nostrils. They walked as far as a tiny pavillion where Harry followed Hermione's example and sat down next to her. They sat there in silence for a while, each consumed by their own thoughts. Harry kept searching for a way to pour his heart out, but the words kept sticking in his throat. Finally he mustered up the courage to say something.

"This has been a fine night, hasn't it ?" he asked in a shrill voice.

"Yes. I like going to balls, though I wish it wouldn't take so much preparations."

"But it's worth it. You look gorgeous." Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. Apparently Hermione was surprised as well, for she blushed deeply.

"T-thank you." She whispered softly.

Harry stared at his feet for a while, mentally kicking himself for not having the guts to continue. Where was his Gryffindor courage when he needed it ? At long last he dared to look at her again, only to see a puzzling expression on her face. He didn't want her to start ask questions and analyse the situation to shreds, so he did the first thing to enter his mind, which was bending slightly forward and pushing his lips on hers.

TBC


	14. Can you feel the fluff tonight ?

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR  
By Geena  
  
Chapter 14: Can you feel the fluff tonight ?  
  
A/N: indeed, my fluffiest chapter ever, and yes, I decided to turn the Yule Ball into a New Years Eve party, just to fit my story. Sorry about that. 

When Harry removed his lips from Hermione's and finally snapped out of his trance he saw her looking inquisitive at him.

  
"Er… happy New Year." Harry stammered, hearing the midnight chimes from the large grandfather clock in the entrance hall.

"Are you going to kiss everyone like this when we get back ?" She held her head slightly to one side, eyeing him sceptically.

"N-no." Harry stared at his feet, face growing hotter by the second.

Hermione clasped her hand over his and he regained enough courage to look her in the eye.

"Do you want to talk about it ?"

Harry looked back down again and sighed. "I guess it's obvious I'm making a gigantic fool of myself here."

"Don't say that. I only want to know why you kissed me, that's all." Hermione sounded genuine.

"I-I really like you. I mean, I feel weird when you're around and I think it's because I … well, because I'm in love with you." He looked at her from the corner of his eye, afraid she was going to laugh, but she did no such thing.

"Oh." For once Hermione looked lost for words, but as always in her case it didn't last very long. "I gathered as much, but I wasn't sure."

"You don't feel the same then." Harry stated, unable to keep his disappointment hidden.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it's not that I don't feel anything for you Harry, because I do, very much actually. But it's just that it's not as easy as it looks. Not with Ron and everything."

Harry's head snapped up. "You'd forgo on a relationship with me because of Ron ?"

"No no, as I said, it's just one of many things. But as his friends we do have to consider his feelings."

"I suppose." Harry wasn't convinced about this at all and it seemed Ron was enjoying himself quite well without them, so it couldn't be that big of a deal anyway.

"My biggest concern is that we're still so young." She interrupted his thoughts.

"You mean you think this is just a crush and we'll end up hating each other ?"

"I don't think we'd ever hate each other Harry. But yeah, what if it were just a crush ?" 

"If we both believe this is only a crush, then what harm can it do if we were to go along with it ? Maybe it will go away after a while and we'll go back to being friends again. Maybe it will grow to be something more, who knows ? We can try, can't we ?" Harry said, eagerly.

Before Hermione was able to say anything, Harry continued: "But you don't really believe this is just a crush, do you ? I'm sure as hell don't. I think it's much more than that, and I really want to see where we could end up together. I feel good in your company and I know you like being with me too. Those feelings I've been having lately are a tad confusing, but I do believe I'm finally figuring them out. Can't we go on together ?"

"You know as well as I do that we're about to enter a vital stage in our education. I really want to be able to concentrate on my studies for now and any distraction, positive or negative might make me feel guilty if I didn't get the results I was aiming for." Hermione answered his passionate plea. "I also think we'd be incredibly young to commit ourselves. We're wizards, we'll live longer than muggles do. We're going to have plenty of time for all of that later on. Frankly, I think I want to develop my own personality first before I get into a relationship."

That last bit made Harry think. She did have a point there. Harry knew he was still in the process of discovering things about himself and maybe Hermione was right in thinking it might be more complicated if he were in a relationship at the same time. But complicated wasn't necessarily bad, was it ?

"I see what you mean and I agree, but does it mean we have to hold out all romance until we've found ourselves ? That could take ages !"

The despair in his voice made her smile. "You're right of course. Maybe … maybe we can figure something out that would allow us to have both. I mean, hold off the major commitment but still being more than just friends. Would that work for you ?"

"Does this mean we'd have to date other people ?" Harry asked with a horrified expression on his face, an image of Hermione standing close to Ron flashing before his eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to, but I don't think I could. As I told you, I really like you Harry, and I do have certain feelings for you. But as for now, I don't know how they're going to develop. So I think it would be best if we take things as they come, one at the time, don't rush into it."

Harry sighed. "I think I can live with that… for now."

Hermione gave him a smile and brushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear. Then she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. All of a sudden Harry was wondering why he was worrying himself so much. The bottom line was that Hermione liked him back and that was definitely an improvement of the situation he had found himself in earlier that day. Relieved he took her hand and led her back inside. They returned to Gryffindor Tower in silence. Right before she disappeared towards the girls' dormitories he pecked her lightly on the cheek, making them both blush.

Harry didn't sleep much that night, but it wasn't a terrible wake. He felt like he still had a long way to go, but as always he would follow Hermione's lead, knowing she'd probably know best.

*

Everyone slept in late the following day. Classes would start on Monday and they all wanted to postpone that moment as long as possible, students and teachers alike.

Harry decided to pay another visit to his godfather, this time with Ron and Hermione in tow. Sirius greeted them warmly and he had presents for the three of them. When they walked back to the castle, they saw Professor Palmer taking a stroll towards the lake. Harry told his friends he'd meet up with them later on, saying he needed to talk to their professor. He knew they would be visible from afar, but if he could convince her to walk towards the Quidditch stands, they'd have more privacy.

"Good morning Professor." Harry said cheerfully.

"And a very good morning it is, Harry." She smiled back at him, following his gesture towards a more secluded area of the Hogwarts grounds.

They engaged in idle chit-chat, talking about the ball, avoiding the dance-manoeuvre Harry and Hermione had pulled on their professors. When they were out of sight their conversation turned more private. Harry told his aunt about what had happened with Hermione and she smiled and said she thought Hermione was being very mature. This convinced Harry that he was on the right track and his day couldn't have gotten any better. That's until his aunt came up with her request.

"Harry, Albus told me you don't like being with the Dursleys and knowing how Lily's relationship with her sister was I can very well understand. I was wondering if you'd like to spent the summer with me at Snape Manor, I've already checked with Albus."

For a moment Harry was too stunned to speak. Then he thought about two more months of Snape and the attractiveness of the proposition seemed to diminish quite a bit. However, Jessica Potter was no fool.

"I've talked about this with Severus and he would also feel more comfortable if he knew you were with me this summer."

When she saw the dumbstruck look on his face she chuckled. "Severus always goes on a field trip to collect fresh potions ingredients during the first weeks of July. He doesn't want to leave me alone this time with the baby …"

"Baby ?!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes, the baby. I'm pregnant. The baby will be born near the end of July and you can imagine how protective Severus is being right now."

"You mean, *the * baby ?" Harry asked, eyes widened in awe.

"Of course, you know I'm only going to have one child, so naturally it is *the * baby, as you put it."

"I – I'd love to keep you company !" Harry's eyes shone with happiness. He tried to steal glances at his aunt's stomach, but of course there was nothing visible there yet. She did notice however.

"I'm going to use a glamour charm to conceal my condition. Not that we fear anyone would guess who I am, but people would go wondering how I ended up pregnant at Hogwarts. There aren't much candidates you know." She smiled again.

"So I can really stay with you ?" Harry needed confirmation, after all he had been close to being rescued from the Dursleys once already and he didn't want to think about what had happened then.

"Yes. Like I said, Severus and I would be more than happy to have you there. You can invite your friends for your birthday if you like and I believe it is customary for you to spend the last two weeks of the holidays with Ron Weasley' family, that won't change."

Harry couldn't believe his luck and before he could prevent it he had launched himself at his aunt to hold her in a tight embrace. When he let go of her he thought he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye, but since it had been somewhere far away along the outskirts of the forest he wasn't quite sure. Nevertheless, he didn't want to risk exposure and hurriedly said goodbye to his aunt.

He now saw himself faced with another challenge: he'd have to tell Ron and Hermione where he was going to spend his summer and why. He'd also have to confess he'd been keeping secrets from them.

Once again complications were invading his life and he fully realised he had caused this one himself. Oh well, better not putting it off any longer and he resolutely headed for the Gryffindor common room.  
  
  
  
TBC


	15. The Godfather

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

A/N: Sorry for the delay ! There will be 2 more chapters. If all goes well the next one will be posted on Wednesday and the last one on Saturday.

Chapter 15: The Godfather

Harry thoroughly enjoyed the baffled expressions on his friends' faces. Ron looked like he was choking on something, muttering unintelligible sounds and Hermione seemed to be processing the information inside her head. Finally she smiled and nodded.

"It does explain a lot. Gosh Harry, you must be really freaking out." She said.

"No, not really. I mean, at first I thought it was all rather upsetting. Then I sort of got used to the idea and I'm very glad I finally know something more about my family, though it's not exactly as I would have pictured it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier, but I felt I needed to deal with it myself first."

"Of course, that's only natural." Hermione nodded understandingly.

"You … you mean Snape is your UNCLE ?" Ron managed to utter.

Harry thought this was typically Ron to go focussing on that one bit of information. Then he saw the redhead grin.

"What ?"

"Well, with Snape and that Dursley guy, you really haven't been lucky with your in-laws, have you ?"

Harry smiled back. "Anyone is better than Vernon Dursley, even Snape." He said decidedly.

"Yeah, but imagine spending you summer holidays with him." Ron shivered. "Better you than me."

"Oh Ron, didn't I tell you ? You're invited at Snape Manor to celebrate my birthday." Harry teased.

Hermione was jumping up and down in excitement, telling them rumour went that Snape Manor was one of the oldest and best maintained Manors in the wizarding world.

"Its library is legendary; I wonder if Snape would let me take a look." She pondered.

Harry and Ron both wrinkled their noses, not in the least interested in the Snape book collection. 

After telling his friends about his recent discoveries, Harry felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Just in time apparently, because all of their teachers –even Binns and Trelawney- decided they needed to prepare for their OWLs. The following weeks all the fifth years were covered in assignments and extra tests. Harry didn't get to spend as much time with his godparents as he would have liked, especially since the second Quidditch match was only days away. The Slytherins had pulverised Huffelpuf and if Gryffindor wanted to stay in the lead, they needed to win against Ravenclaw. Ron told Harry he didn't know who he was going to cheer for, since his girlfriend Cho was the Ravenclaw seeker, but he also winked and smiled so Harry wasn't too worried. On the day itself Harry was pleased to see both his godparents in the stands, though Sirius was there as Padfoot. The match was a close one and if it weren't for Harry's faster broomstick they would have surely lost the game. As it was, they won and held a comfortable lead over Slytherin.

After their next Potions class Snape told Harry to meet him in his office later that night. Malfoy, who overheard, shot him an evil grin and for the rest of that day Harry was constantly wondering what he could have done wrong this time.

At eight that evening, Harry knocked timidly at Snape's door. The professor let him in and motioned for him to sit down. He patiently waited until Snape had taken his seat opposite him and tried not to look too worried. His torture was over when Snape's baritone filled the cold room.

"Jessica informed me of the conversation you had a few weeks ago." He started and Harry sighed audibly when he realised he wasn't there for a school matter.

"Yes sir, we did." He confirmed.

"Fine. Will you please accompany me."

It was more a statement than a question and Harry found himself following Snape through a shielded door, which lead to a long and narrow passage. At the end there was another door and when he stepped out he found himself in a large, warm-looking sitting room. He immediately spotted his godmother and ran over to hug her. He would never get tired of this. Surprisingly Snape didn't comment. He just waited until their greeting was over and sat down on one of the sofas. Harry followed his example, sitting close to his godmother. She looked at her husband and when Snape nodded she started to speak.

"Harry, I'm sorry we have to meet in this sneaky way, but I'm afraid it would be a little suspicious if you started to hang around me all the time, so we thought it best to do it like this."

"That's ok." Harry said.

"You see, there's something Severus and I need to ask you." She continued.

Harry looked at the stern Potions Master and noticed his gaze had softened somewhat since they had entered the room.

"You know we're going to have a baby soon." Jessica Potter turned his attention back on her. When she saw his nod she took his hand in hers and looked in his eyes.

"Harry, Severus and I would very much like you to be the godfather of our child."

Her words couldn't have startled him more if she had told him she was going to give birth to a giant squid. For a few moments he was lost for words. Never in his entire young life had he been asked to take up such a responsibility. He felt his chest swell and a warm feeling spread throughout his body. A smile lit up his face.  He suddenly realised they were expecting an answer from him when he saw them looking at him questioningly.

"I'd be honoured." He said, his voice thick with pride.

Jessica Potter had to dry her eyes at that. It was Snape who spoke first.

"Potter, you do realise that by accepting to become the godfather of our child, you are acknowledging Jessica as your family. She would be no longer an outcast to the Potter family." He said.

Harry looked up in surprise. He had entirely forgotten about that.

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to." He said, which made his godmother cry in earnest.

Harry wanted to give her a hug to offer some comfort, but he saw Snape was doing a perfectly good job himself. Who would have thought ?

After she had calmed down a bit they explained to him in detail what would be required of him. Snape told him they had chosen him not only for his relationship to Jessica, but also because he would one day be a powerful wizard and since the child was going to be pretty powerful himself they were going to need all the help they could get. Harry had already wondered about Snape's consent in the matter, but now he could see why this man who claimed to despise him had entrusted him with such a responsibility. He was a Slytherin after all.

The news was greeted with much enthusiasm by both of his friends. Hermione was already talking about what kind of books he could read to prepare himself for his role as godfather, while Ron advised him to have a chat with his mother.

A few days later when Harry was returning from Quidditch practise, a young woman came up to him.

"Hi, you're Harry aren't you ? I'm Phoebe. Phoebe Snape." 

She offered him her hand and he shook it quietly. She seemed to be expecting something from him, but he didn't have a clue of what it could be. Then something dawned at him.

"You're going to be the godmother."

She gave him a radiant smile and Harry thought there was no way she could be Snape's sister. She looked absolutely gorgeous. The same features that made Snape look like a grumpy vampire did something entirely different to her. Of course, she didn't have that large crooked nose, nor did she have yellow teeth or greasy hair. With a start he realised it must look like he was checking her out. Slightly blushing he listened to what she was saying.

"… so I told Albus I'd take the opportunity to introduce myself to you."

He had missed completely what she had said and tried to mask it by smiling at her. Apparently she was not easily fooled, had to be a Snape-trait.

"You haven't heard anything I said, have you ?" 

To his relief she laughed and started over.

"As I was saying, Bill and I had some business with Albus …"

"Bill ?" Harry intervened.

"Bill Weasley. You know him I take it ? He's my fiance. We both work for Gringotts. In fact, we were Head Boy and Head Girl back when we were at Hogwarts. Anyway, now I assist Bill and Charlie in another activity, you know what I'm talking about."

Harry nodded. "Something happened ?"

She looked grave. "It will be in the next issue of the Underground Express, but I might as well tell you. There was an attack in Diagon Alley last night. They kidnapped Olivander. Since Dumbledore refused to let Severus go to Death Eater meetings, we have to wait for news from our other informer and this attack came really fast. Too fast."

Harry's face grew pale. He knew Olivander. The old wizard had sold him his wand and only last year had he been here to check it out for the Triwizard Tournament. Harry asked Phoebe some more about the attack and they talked briefly about becoming godparents, desperate to part on a positive note.

After she had left him Harry's mind was still spinning. Why would they kidnap Olivander ? It didn't make any sense. He kept thinking about it for some time until another thought hit him. He remembered something else Phoebe had said. He smiled broadly, looking forward to the day when Ron would be informed he was going to be Snape's brother in law.

TBC


	16. Through thick and thin

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 16: Through thick and thin

The news about Olivander's kidnap was met with a lot of speculation. Some students, who didn't know any better, thought that the Dark Lord didn't have a wand anymore and needed a new one. Harry left them in their ignorance, but it did make him think.

"Maybe he wants to be sure Olivander doesn't sell any more wands so in the long run only himself and his followers have them." Ron suggested.

Hermione didn't agree. "We could always get our wands abroad."

"Yeah, but what if he captures all the wandmakers ?" Ron answered her back.

Harry tried not to worry too much about it, but it still kept lingering in his mind.

Soon enough all thoughts about Olivander and his fellow wandmakers were pushed aside in favour of the exams. Hermione had made them a tight schedule and for once, both Harry and Ron committed themselves to follow it. It left them with little time to spare and when there was room for distraction, they rather went flying or visiting Hagrid. Also because the Death Eaters seemed to have needed a little break of their own. There weren't much raids and some people even suggested the Dark Lord and his followers had been defeated by the Ministry's top wizards, which would be rather spectacular since the Ministry wasn't involved in any such activities. Not officially that was.

At long last the dreadful OWLs lay behind them. There was still more than a week left before they got to know their results, but they welcomed this time to fully enjoy themselves. And there was the final Quidditch match of the season of course. 

Slytherin squashed Ravenclaw and once again the Gryffindors knew they needed to win their game against Huffelpuf, or at least catch the snitch. Harry was confident. He hadn't felt this good and stress-free for weeks and he devoted nearly his entire time to Quidditch practise and tactics. Fred and George moaned every time he addressed the team, saying he was turning into an Oliver Wood clone.

Harry wished it were true. He really could have used Oliver's Quidditch insights. And not just that either. He also would be more than happy to have some of his charm. Until now Harry hadn't been very self-conscious about his appearance, but ever since he was sort of together with Hermione he had become aware of the fact that girls seemed to like a guy with good looks, whatever that may be. Remembering Oliver being quite the popular one, he tried to figure out what the secret was. If Fred and George were serious about him developing some of Oliver's characteristics, maybe there was a chance he would become charming as well.

On the day of the match, Harry received a good-luck card from his godmother. He beamed up at her when she passed by his chair, smiling. 

At that same moment, Draco Malfoy found it appropriate to make his way over.

"Well Potter, ready to face your doom ? You know as well as I do you need a small miracle to take the lead form Slytherin. Why even bother ? Oh,no. You don't need to answer me." Draco waved his hand. "I already know you Gryffindors are as thick as they come." He smiled haughtily and went back to his table.

"Don't let him get to you Harry." Ron said, his gaze locked onto Malfoy.

But Harry knew they needed to win with a large difference in points, just taking the snitch wouldn't suffice. Angelina, Alicia and Katie assured him they were going to score like he'd never seen before. It was their last game for the team after all.

They kept word and that evening the Gryffindors celebrated with a shiny Quidditch Cup standing on the mantle piece.

There were only a few days left before they would be getting their results and Harry was growing a bit restless. Hermione had already started to research on what subjects she would like to focus on for her NEWTs and Ron spent the larger part of his days on a broomstick, determined to make the team the following year.

So Harry found himself on his own, wandering on the school grounds. He didn't take too much notice of his surroundings and he almost jumped up when a hand was placed roughly on his shoulder.

"They didn't need you anymore, did they ?" Draco Malfoy sneered at him. "Funny how quickly the famous Boy-Who-Lived is cast aside." He sniggered.

Harry chose not to reply.

"What is it ? Am I too close for comfort ? I bet the Weasel and the Mudblood have found better things to do. Things that don't include you Potter. Yuk, just think about what would come from a union of those two." Draco's face was distorted from disgust.

"You don't know at thing Malfoy !" Harry shot back. He tried to contain his rage, barely managing. Now was not the moment to reveal he was together with Hermione. He hadn't forgotten about Malfoy's special interest in her.

Just then Professor Palmer decided to show up and ask Harry to take some potions to the infirmary for her.

Harry felt awkward about the encounter with Malfoy. He couldn't tell what it was, but something was clearly amiss.

It wasn't until late that evening when he suddenly realised what had seemed off. It was the look in Malfoy's eyes. Those pale grey eyes that normally shone brightly each time Professor Palmer was around had been blank. Maybe Malfoy had got over his infatuation, but Harry clearly remembered it being there a little while ago. He tried to think when he had last seen it or had heard someone make fun of it. Come to think of it, it had been some time. He relaxed and concentrated. At the time of the Yule Ball it had still been there, but after that …

Harry jumped up in his bed when he realised something. That day when he had been talking to his godmother and they embraced, he thought he had seen something out of the corner of his eye. Maybe that had been Malfoy ? His mind was racing to try and catch up with all the theories his imagination was sprouting. Suddenly he couldn't stay in bed anymore. That's when a sharp pain coursed through his scar and he just knew trouble wouldn't be far. He jumped into some clothes and ran straight towards Dumbledore's office. Once again the gargoyle leapt aside and let him in. When the door was opened he saw Snape was already there, looking ashen. Dumbledore didn't even seem to notice him, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, apparently in deep thought.

Finally Snape saw him and motioned him to come closer.

"She has been taken." He said in a strangled sounding voice.

"Where ?"

"I don't know. I haven't been summoned."

To Harry it didn't seem real. It was like a bad dream he would wake up from in a few minutes, after which he would eat some chocolate and he'd feel better instantly.

However, when he looked at Snape and Dumbledore it didn't seem like chocolate would do the trick this time.

For a few moments they stood there in silence, each one of them staring at another point in the distance.

Then the fireplace started crackling and out of a flaming green fire stepped a familiar looking woman, looking agitated. She stormed right at Snape, ignoring Dumbledore and Harry completely.

"Severus, I'm so sorry ! I didn't know he was planning on doing that. I knew there was something big to come, but I never thought …"

"It's alright Narcissa." Snape took her hand in his and gave it a rather strong squeeze.

"No Severus, it's not alright. I should have been able to prevent it. It was Draco." She lowered her head.

"Draco ?"

"Yes. I found letters from him to Lucius, saying Professor Palmer was too close to Harry Potter and how he hated her for it. Lucius must have suspected something and may have asked for a description, because in the next letter he described her from head to toe."

Snape shut his eyes briefly and Malfoy's mother now turned to Dumbledore.

"Albus, I think I know where they're holding her. Maybe you can send some of your people there."

"NO !" 

Snape's exclamation was so harsh and loud the others slightly flinched, even Dumbledore.

"I will go."

"No Severus, I cannot let you go there on your own." Dumbledore intervened. "It is just what he wants, to have you both at his mercy."

"At least when I'm there I'll be able to do something."

"And get yourself killed ?" Harry asked to his own surprise.

Snape slowly looked at him, as if remembering vaguely he was there.

"He will not kill me on sight. That would be too easy for me. No, he'll want me to witness whatever he has planned for Jessica. I want to be there for her. Narcissa, where is she ?" He turned back to Mrs Malfoy.

"In our summer residence."

"Right."

Before Harry had blinked his eyes Snape had already left, storming down the stairs. The light in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed and Narcissa Malfoy slapped herself on the head. Harry didn't think, he just acted and bolted out after his professor. He heard Dumbledore's hoarse "Harry !", but he didn't look back. Snape already had a head start on him.

"Accio Firebolt! Accio cloak!" Harry yelled as he ran across Hogwarts' Grounds.

The broom flew into his hands and he mounted it quickly. The cloak followed and shielded from the outside world, Harry closed in on his teacher.

Snape didn't seem to worry about anyone noticing him, for he ran like mad. Harry knew he was going to apparate as soon as he left Hogwarts' borders and he needed to get close to him, very close.

When he was level with him, Harry landed and reached for the hem of Snape's flowing robes. Just when he got a hold of them he felt a little pull and everything went black.

TBC

A/N: Final part coming soon.


	17. Author's Note

A/N: I know I promised I'd get the final part of this story up by Saturday. Due to some real life unforeseen circumstances I won't be able to make it. Since I'm going away on holiday next week, the last chapter won't be up until June 19th. However, it *will * be up before the real Book 5 gets out !

Thanks for being patient.

Geena


	18. Marcus Severus James Snape

HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 17: Marcus Severus James Snape

With a plop both Snape and Harry apparated on the outskirts of the Malfoy summer residence. Harry was unable to keep his balance and stumbled into his professor.

"What the …" Snape tried to keep his temper down when Harry dropped his cloak and he discovered the stowaway.

The two men looked each other in the eye for a long time and then Snape merely sighed and nodded. He pulled Harry close to him so he could whisper in his ear.

"Since you decided to act on your Gryffindor instincts we better make good use of it."

It didn't sound as much as the insult it would have been had this been under any other circumstance and Harry relaxed. Now he was there he would make sure to be of help to his professor. Only, at this moment the family relationship was stronger than the professional one and Harry felt Snape was regarding him in a totally different manner.

"I will go inside and distract Voldemort. Meanwhile I want you to put on that cloak of yours and keep it on !" That last bit was said with a certain urge to it. "I want you to go look for Jessica and if possible take her out of there. I believe he will not have harmed her, so she'll be able to apparate you both out of here."

"And what about you ?" Harry whispered back.

Snape waved his hand. "That is of no importance."

Harry arched his eyebrow. "And who's the Gryffindor now, sir ?"

"I assure you it is very much the Slytherin way to obtain what you want."

"And that is what ? Getting killed by Voldemort ?" Harry still couldn't believe Snape was being so stoically about this.

"My main goal for being here is to get Jessica safely out of here so the baby can be born in the right surroundings. All the rest is subordinate to this."

"Even your own life ? That's taking it a bit far, isn't it. Forget Gryffindor, this is sheer Huffelpuf behaviour !" Harry said, raising his voice lightly. He was beginning to panic. Suppose he was able to get his godmother out, how was she going to react when she found out he left her husband behind ? Did Snape even know how much his wife cared for him ? Harry seriously doubted this, otherwise he wouldn't be so quick to sacrifice himself.

"For your information, there was never a question of me being in Gryffindor nor Huffelpuf." Snape snarled.

"So there was some debate on whether you were in Ravenclaw or not." Harry stated, recalling the Snapes were a Ravenclaw family.

To his surprise Snape nodded.

"I was supposed to go in Ravenclaw, but like you I suggested something else."

Harry was too baffled by this revelation to be surprised Snape knew of his argument with the sorting hat.

"Why on earth would you have chosen to be in Slytherin ?" He asked from the bottom of his heart.

Snape looked at him penetrative. "Because I believed that by doing so I could make a difference. I still believe so."

Harry's head spun. His godmother hadn't exaggerated when she told him Snape had gone to the Death Eaters with the intention to spy.

"But you were only a child back then." Harry stated.

"Indeed. Though sometimes children instinctively know what to do."

Harry pondered this for a while.

"Something must have made you do it, you just don't decide to go into Slytherin for the fun of it."

Snape gave a snort. "There is not much 'fun' to be had in Slytherin, trust me."

"What was it ?" Harry tried to catch Snape's eyes again, the need to know growing and growing.

/p> 

"I overheard a conversation between my father and godfather. My godfather told him he was concerned about a new Dark Lord trying to rise. In those days Voldemort was just another dark wizard trying to get followers. But something about him made my godfather worried. He said it would be nearly impossible to know what exactly was going on if they didn't have someone on the inside and he feared that by the time Voldemort went public it would be too late. Then he said the most likely recruits would come from Slytherin and a plan formed in my mind."

"Did your father and godfather know why you did this ?" Harry asked.

"Of course. Right after the sorting ceremony my godfather called me to him and I had to explain. I had to plea with him to not resort me. Only after a very long debate and a visit from my parents did he agree to let my do as I wished."

Harry frowned. How could the Snapes have known about the sorting so soon ? Then something dawned.

"Your godfather, is he …"

"Albus Dumbledore, yes. He is an old friend of the family."

Harry nodded. It all fell into place now. Why Dumbledore had been so grief stricken when Snape was injured and most of all, why Dumbledore trusted him so much.

"Now, if your curiosity is satisfied, I suggest we carry on." 

And Snape walked resolutely to the entrance of the large house.

Harry followed under his cloak. He had left his broomstick where they had apparated, knowing he could always summon it if needed. He whispered a brief "Good luck" when he left the Potions Master to commence his search. It didn't take him long to find where they were holding his godmother. Once he got upstairs he found the doors to all rooms but one wide open. Lucius Malfoy stood guard in front of the one that was closed. When an uproar began downstairs he knew Snape had made his presence known. Malfoy tried to listen to what was happening, but they were too far away to hear anything specific, except a loud "Snape!", hissed venomously. The next instant Malfoy made sure the door was locked and hurried his way down, unable to stay away from what was likely to be a spectacular show.

That was Harry's cue.

With a quick thank you to Fred and George, Harry picked the lock and entered the room. He immediately spotted his godmother and went over to her. She let out a surprised cry when he lowered his cloak. For a moment joy could be seen on her face, but then her eyes got a worried look.

"Harry, you mustn't be here. If Voldemort catches you there'll be no doubt of what he'll do."

"Don't worry." Harry said, trying to sound calm. "Professor Snape is currently downstairs distracting them so I can get you out of here."

"Severus is here ?!" She shrieked.

Harry cringed, hoping no one heard the noise. Meanwhile his godmother started pacing up and down the room, her hands wringing. He noticed she had kept up the spell to disguise her pregnancy, but her movements were obviously hindered by the weight she was carrying around, roughly one month before the delivery.

"I cannot let him do this." She said resolutely and before Harry had the chance to do or say anything, she stalked from the room.

With one last shred of sanity Harry covered himself with his cloak and followed her down. Voldemort and his minions were currently amusing themselves with throwing snarling remarks at Snape's expense. He remained unmoved by it, but when he saw his wife entering the room all colour that was left on his face drained away. Voldemort followed his gaze and stood up abruptly form his chair. The other Death Eaters followed and some were already heading towards her but with one wave of his hand he ordered them to leave her alone.

"My dear Jessica, how nice of you to join us. How clumsy of Lucius to leave you unguarded. Crucio." 

Lucius Malfoy fell into a heap of convulsing limbs and Voldemort toyed with him for a while.

"As I was saying, it is a pleasure to see you again my dear. I wanted to spare you this sight, but since you are here you might as well see with your own eyes what I have in store for my beloved traitor."

He sent her an evil smile and held out his hand.

"Come to me, my dear, you will take your rightful place at my side while we watch the end of your captor. He really shouldn't have taken you away from me, you know how possessive I get."

  
Again that wretched smile. Until he touched her hand that is. His face contorted in rage as he felt the magic of the charm she cast on herself.

"Finite Incantarem !" He bellowed, revealing her pregnancy.

The Dark Lord's rage was gigantic. Each and every one of the Death Eaters suffered cruciatus, Lucius Malfoy barely recovered from his earlier dosage. He yelled at them for bringing him 'damaged goods' and they all cowered away from him. Then his gaze fell on Snape. He advanced on him, wand aimed at his groin.

"You miserable, worthless piece of filth ! You're going to pay for this I tell you ! I bet you think you thwarted my plans but you're wrong. I am going to raise this child and I'll make sure he turns out the way he's supposed to. And you know what ? I'll keep your miserable hide alive so you can be a witness to all of it. How do you like that, Potions Master ?" Voldemort spat.

"However, this doesn't mean I can't do this."

He raised his wand and aimed for the cruciatus, but just when the first syllable left his mouth an enormous magical outburst blasted him against the wall. Harry looked around to see whether Dumbledore had brought reinforcements, but there was no one besides those who had been present. He followed Snape's astonished look and saw his godmother supporting herself on the edge of a chair. He rushed towards her to give her some support and that's when he felt it. A tingle of magic surrounded her and it all seemed to start somewhere around her stomach. Harry's eyes grew wide when he realised what was happening. Apparently so did the other Death Eaters and one by one fled the room. When there was only Voldemort, Wormtail and Malfoy left, Snape stood up and went over to his wife.

"I believe you just made a vital mistake." He said, as if he had known all along what would happen.

Malfoy snorted. "Figures. A child, not even born yet, had to come to your rescue. Pathetic."

"Really ?" Snape arched his eyebrows like only he can and put his hand on his wife's belly. "Well, I guess this makes me a very proud father." He continued and seeing his smile both Voldemort and Malfoy lost control and started to move towards them, wands aimed. Harry guessed they considered the two of them powerful enough to take on an unborn child.

Again they made a mistake.

In the uproar, Harry had also laid his hand on his godmother's belly and when he raised his wand under his cloak, he felt an incredible surge of power run through his body, culminating in a giant blast out of his wand, knocking the wind out of Voldemort and Malfoy.

Apparently this last blow had been a little bit much, for Jessica Snape collapsed in her husband's arms.

"Come. Leave them for the Aurors, we have to get her back." Snape urged him.

Only a few hours later, Marcus Severus James Snape was born. Both mother and child were doing fine and Harry once again had to tell his adventure to his friends.

Over the next days they found out that when the Aurors got to the Malfoy summer residence both Malfoy and Voldemort had gone, but Harry tried not to worry too much about it. He was now focussing on his new duties as a godfather.

Speaking of godfathers. Both Sirius and Remus were totally captivated by the new-born, enough for Sirius to be civil to Snape. The latter was rapidly turning from a bat into a fuming dragon. Harry and friends could only smile at such fatherly devotion, except when it was directed at them of course.

When they received the results of their OWLs Hermione came out on top of the year. Harry and Ron, who had done very well themselves, were extremely proud of her and Harry rushed to Hogsmeade to buy her a special present for him to give in private. He was rewarded with his first ever french kiss and his first reaction was to hurry back and buy out the entire store.

Much to their delight, Draco Malfoy had received severe punishments from Dumbledore, Snape and his mother. Though the Slytherin didn't show too many signs of remorse, he did go visit Jessica to tell her he had never wanted anyone to get killed. Hermione said he probably had been jealous of Harry for getting so much attention from their professor. Though that may have been the case, it didn't stop Harry from feeling even more aversion towards the Slytherin.

Surprisingly, none of the events had been reported in the newspapers, only a small announcement of the birth of Marcus Severus James Snape, with no specific details. Dumbledore explained to Harry it was of the utmost importance young Marcus would be able to grow up without everyone treating him as something special. 

Now, where have we heard that one before ?

THE END

A/N: thanks for reading and reviewing and most of all: thanks for being so patient !!! This will probably be the last under NC17-rated story I'll write, but you never know, I might come back with a version of Book 6 …


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